


When Planes Collide

by TrappedInAPentagram



Series: When Planes Collide [1]
Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cecil is Inhuman, Desert Bluffs, Fluff, M/M, Night Vale, Seven planes, Strong angels, planes of existence not flying planes, sorry if the title is confusing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-28
Updated: 2014-07-14
Packaged: 2018-01-26 21:04:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 62,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1702487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrappedInAPentagram/pseuds/TrappedInAPentagram
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cecil and Carlos have always gone about their everyday lives in a similar routine. Make offerings to the Glowcloud, maybe try to take a picture of the man in the tan jacket, follow up on reports about the mayoral debate, wonder why the sun turned green that one time...the usual. They've even discussed moving in together, but just when their relationship begins to take off, something happens that's even strange by Nightvale standards.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Date Night

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo hello everyone who came to read this. This is my first nightvale fic written with the help of my lovely girlfriend of about seven months :D please leave comments telling us what you think, it'd help a lot to inspire us to write more, even though we've already pre-written much of this. we just want to know what sort've audience we're getting and maybe some suggestions for what you'd like to see :3 anyway, thanks for reading, enjoy!

Cecil paced around the room, petting Khoshekh when the cat wandered by and avoiding the spines on its back. He double-checked the wide-screen TV, making sure that Ghostbusters was ready to play and triple-checked that the house was in order.

Carlos got out of his car, some red, rusted, 1965 Ford Galaxy he had gotten as a gift ages ago, locking the door and knowing the 'blip-blip' of the horn would probably catch Cecil's attention. Cecil would know Carlos' car horn in a lot with ten separate car alarms going off at once. He ran a hand through his hair, wondering if he had forgotten anything with his rush to get out of the lab, giving some instructions to his co-workers and hoping they'd have the lab in order when he returned in the morning. Even so, he might spend the night with his radio-host of a boyfriend, so he'd probably be late in the morning either way. He approached the door, and, as expected, didn't even have to ring the bell before it was opening.

"Carlos!" Cecil grinned, throwing the door open and beaming at the scientist.

"Cecil," Carlos greeted in return, giving him a smile and a kiss on the cheek shortly before realizing he had left his lab coat on. "Oh, sorry, I knew I was forgetting something..." he mumbled in reference to it.

"It's alright, I love that...science stuff. Sciency…science. Come in?" Cecil offered, blushing and stepping aside.

Carlos chuckled, walking in and saying, "Yeah, sciency science," as he hung the lab coat on one of Cecil's claw-shaped coat hangers. Cecil’s living room had a dark, hard wood floor, but he had a white rug covering the majority of the area. The walls were purple, but all the furnishings were lighter colors to offer a nice contrast. There was a huge fireplace off to the left of the couch, and on the mantel there were various pictures and trinkets, including an hour glass with one half holding beads flowing down as the other half of the beads floated up. There was even a sound system near the TV, presumably for listening to music on one station and using it to watch movies on another. The living room was connected to the kitchen, which looked more like it belonged in a five-star restaurant, what with the large hooded stove and cooking utensils covering nearly every available counter surface, half of which Carlos wouldn’t even know what to do with. Between the kitchen and living room there was an island with silver barstools that had purple cushioned seats. He had already taken an allergy pill, so he wasn't fazed when Khoshekh entered the room and mewled at them for attention.

Cecil picked the cat up, scratching under his chin as he carried him to the kitchen, saying, "I ordered dinner."

"Ooh, what'd you get?" Carlos asked, having several guesses in mind. Khoshekh purred loudly, looking as though he were grinning as his head tilted up for Cecil's hand.

"Big Rico's wheat-and-wheat-by-product free pizza," Cecil said, "the delivery child should appear in the living room any minute."

"Right, I forgot about those," Carlos said, as he preferred to pick up food from restaurants when he ordered out in Nightvale. That way, he could try to avoid future incidents with the delivery wraiths and various other forms of delivery monsters.

Moments later an empty howling noise filled the room, a tiny blank-faced boy appearing in the living room amidst a small onslaught of black sludge. The boy clutched the pizza box, making a hissing sound.

Carlos asked, "Uh, did you want me to pay for half?" as the delivery boy continued hissing.

"It's my treat," Cecil grinned, handing some money to the boy and tugging the box from his grip.

Carlos said, "Right, thanks," to the boy awkwardly, giving the pizza a concerned glance, as some of the black ooze was stuck to the box.

The boy convulsed and disappeared, the black sludge around the room slowly fading.

Carlos said, "I might never get used to that," as he shook his head, heading to the living room.

"Why not?" Cecil said, sitting on the long, curved, white couch, "Do you prefer delivery falcons?"

"Almost," Carlos nodded with a light chuckle, sitting next to Cecil. "So, what are we watching?"

"The Ghostbusters horror movie," Cecil said happily, getting paper plates for the pizza.

Carlos raised a brow, saying, "Alright, I haven't seen it in awhile," and not having the heart to reveal that Ghostbusters wasn't the best example of a horror film. He grabbed a slice of pizza, taking a bite and making a satisfied 'mmm', Rico's always having amazing pizza.

Cecil put a plate of pizza on the floor for Khoshekh, settling on the couch happily and starting the movie.

Khoshekh trotted over, nuzzling Cecil's ankle in thanks before licking the pizza, watching it dissolve bit by bit as he continued lapping up the melted remains. Carlos wasn't fazed by the cat’s actions anymore, instead putting an arm around Cecil's waist, which still seemed incredibly skinny to him, eating pizza with his other hand.

Cecil's tattoos wiggled happily, before gasping as a woman screamed at the ghost appearing.

Carlos rolled his eyes, a small smile playing at his lips as he leaned on the taller man's shoulder, taking another bite of pizza.

Cecil gasped again when the ghost hunters were called, drawing a pillow up to hug.

Carlos grinned, rubbing Cecil's side and not flinching at any of the 'scary' parts. He set his plate on the coffee table, Khoshekh sniffing at it for crumbs and grumbling in disappointment, as Carlos was a clean eater.

Cecil whimpered, his tattoos writhing as the Ghostbusters prepared to catch the ghost.

Carlos raised a brow at his boyfriend, asking, "You sure you want to keep watching? If this is too scary..."

"No, I'm fine," Cecil said stubbornly, adding, "They just have very convincing villains." He gestured to the ghost buster attaching a hose to the vacuum.

Carlos asked, "Are you talking about Dr. Venkman?" Cecil shivered slightly at the name, bringing the pillow up to his chin. Carlos didn't have the heart to tell him that Venkman was the main protagonist, rubbing his side again and saying, "It'll be alright," comfortingly.

"It's a horror film, there's never a happy ending," Cecil said indignantly.

"You don't know that," Carlos replied, smirking at Cecil's belief the good guys were taking advantage of the "poor ghosts".

"Yes I do," Cecil said, his tentacles peeling away from his tattoos and clinging to Carlos nervously.

Carlos blinked, leaning up from Cecil's shoulder in surprise and starting, "What the hell...?" in a half surprised and half fascinated tone.

Cecil didn't notice for a moment, a tentacle wrapping around Carlos's arm before he realized. He flailed back, yelping, "Oh void, Carlos I’m so sorry," and flushing bright purple.

"No, don't worry about it, I was just startled," Carlos said, looking to the tentacles that were slowly melding back onto Cecil's arms. "How are they doing that?"

Cecil hissed, forcing them back and dragging them, somewhat painfully, back into tattoos. He remained bright red, stuttering, "I’m so sorry, Carlos, I should never have done that."

"It's alright," Carlos said, settling again. "I just didn't know they could move, is all. It's really...rather interesting, actually." Cecil continued to huddle to the opposite side of the couch, his eyes wide. "Cecil, it's honestly ok," Carlos said, scooting a little closer. "It was kind of a...cute gesture, I suppose," Carlos said, blushing slightly as well, as he wasn't the best in these situations.

Cecil blinked at him again, asking, "What?"

"I don't know; it's a Cecil thing, I guess," Carlos grinned, leaning over and gently pushing one of Cecil's hands away from his chest, giving him a quick kiss.

Cecil blinked, saying, "You don't mind?" slowly.

"Not at all," Carlos grinned. "Hell, if you had grown crab pinchers I wouldn't be surprised. They just caught me a little off guard, is all."

Cecil blinked, the tips of his tentacles reappearing as he said, "Are you sure?" cautiously.

"If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't be living in Nightvale," Carlos chortled.

Cecil seemed to be struggling for words for a moment before saying "neat." He then turned bright red, hiding his face in the pillow again.

Carlos laughed at that, taking one of Cecil's arms gently, saying, "C'mere," and tugging him into a hug. "We have a movie to finish, and if it makes them feel better, your...tentacles can join in." Cecil blinked again, slowly letting himself be pulled back to Carlos. Carlos rubbed his back, asking again, "But really, how do they do that?"

"They're just always like that," Cecil said, still clinging to the pillow.

"I've never even seen them move; I mean, how do they peel off your skin? The molecular structure must be something to behold," Carlos said, trying to stop himself from going into science-mode.

"They just do that," Cecil said, never really having considered the science behind that.

"Can I see one?" Carlos asked, pulling back from the hug but keeping a hand on Cecil's lap. Cecil allowed one to peel off his skin slowly, the tentacle wrapping around Carlos' hand. "Incredible," Carlos said after a moment of thought, turning his hand and watching it peel a little more off Cecil's arm to stay connected to his skin. He used his other hand to pet it, watching it curl affectionately tighter around the hand it was already holding. It was reacting much like a normal octopus tentacle might. Cecil was still watching him carefully, prepared to retract his tentacles and possibly run. Carlos started talking to himself under his breath, wondering about the genetic makeup and if it was made from some sort of specialized ink or if this was just another happening of Nightvale better left untouched. He decided to go with the latter, and ended up saying, "It's cute," lamely, though he grinned when it seemed to wiggle in response to being complimented.

Cecil blushed again, burying his face in his pillow as the rest of his tentacles manifested.

Carlos snorted when one of the tentacles hit a ticklish spot, saying, "They're ticklish," through a laugh, other tentacles already trying to join the first. "Are they...jealous?" he asked, as the others now seemed to be vying for his attention.

"No!" Cecil squeaked, far too fast and brushing some tentacles aside.

Carlos said, "Don't worry about it, if they are. I can't pet them all at once, but I can try," as he used his free hand to rub the ones that seemed a little more persistent. His other hand was on Cecil's hip, ignoring the tattoos that were wrapping around it. Eventually Cecil lowered the pillow, forgetting the movie playing in the background and watching Carlos with mild awe.

Carlos turned his arm again, watching various tentacles wrap around it. For reasons even he wasn't sure of, he ended up holding one in his hand and pressing it to his cheek as though cuddling a small animal. He also realized the scruff still on his chin might not be too comfortable against the smoothness of the tentacle, but it didn't seem to mind.

Cecil stared for another long moment, asking, "Are you sure you're ok with this?"

"Why wouldn't I be? I could live here for twenty years and I'm sure there'd still be something else to impress me," Carlos said, rubbing a thumb along the tentacle he was holding, which seemed to be draped in ecstasy.

"Oh," Cecil said, at a loss to say anything else.

"Can you feel that? Me petting them, I mean," Carlos asked, setting the tentacle in his hand on his lap to pet another one, which curled happily under his hand.

"Maybe," Cecil mumbled, blushing again.

Carlos grinned slowly, trailing a finger down one of the tentacles to brush Cecil's arm, humming, "Mmhm," as he ran the finger back up the tattoo.

Cecil shuddered slightly, mumbling, "You stop that."

"Why?" Carlos asked, his grin turning more evil as he continued to run a finger along the tentacle, curling it around his finger when it got to the tip.

"Because I said so," Ceil frowned, retracting the tentacle.

Carlos pouted, "Fine, if you say so," before leaning to nuzzle Cecil's cheek. "They are cute, though. I don't really know how else to describe them without reverting to full-on scientist speech."

Cecil blushed again, mumbling, "Can we finish the movie?" desperately.

"Sure, if you think you can handle it," Carlos grinned, kissing him briefly.

Cecil frowned, grumbling, "I’m fine," and curling up again.

"Alright," Carlos said, grinning in contrast and putting an arm behind Cecil's back, leaning his head on Cecil's to finish the movie. Three of Cecil's tentacles wrapped around Carlos's shoulder, the rest covering Cecil's face at the 'scary' parts. Carlos wore a content smile for the rest of the movie, hugging Cecil when he curled against Carlos' shoulder for the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man scene. Carlos also remembered to use his free hand to stroke the tentacles curled around his shoulder that was opposite Cecil.

Cecil purred quietly, the sound at first easily mistaken for Khoshekh until the cat wandered out of the room. Carlos blinked, turning his head and asking, "Are you purring?"

Cecil blushed but didn't look away from the screen, saying, "No," defensively.

"Are you sure?" Carlos asked, setting his head against Cecil's chest and listening to the purr with a grin.

Cecil tried to stifle the purring, mumbling, "It's Khoshekh."

Carlos hummed, "I'm not sure it is," as he stroked one of his tentacles with a finger again.

The purring returned, Cecil saying, "Then it must be the void buzzing again."

Carlos smirked, "Mmhm, sure," as he moved his head, nuzzling Cecil's neck affectionately.

Cecil tilted his head appreciatively as he blurted, "Yup, it's probably the void, screaming out against its own endless silence. The void. Or maybe it's the faceless old woman that lives in your house."

Carlos said, "I think the faceless old woman was in someone else's house tonight," with a grin, kissing his neck.

Cecil hummed again, mumbling, "Then it must be the void."

Carlos said, "I may be more of a chemist, but I'm pretty sure the void doesn't purr," as he ran a hand across Cecil's lap.

"It might sometimes," Cecil said indignantly.

Carlos shrugged, "Fair enough, you probably know more about it than I do," before winding a tentacle around his finger again. Cecil sighed, wincing as the ghost got sucked away and the movie ended. Carlos glanced to the screen, asking, "There, was that so bad?"

"Yes," Cecil grumbled, sitting up straight.

Carlos sighed, "I thought you'd like it, but we could have changed the movie at any time."

"I like scary movies," Cecil said, crossing his arms and tentacles.

Carlos chuckled, "You can pick the movie next time," as he rubbed Cecil's back.

"Maybe the Ring, that has a good ending," Cecil said, leaning on him again.

Carlos asked, "So you're scared of Ghostbusters but not the Ring?"

"Well of course, the Ring has a happy ending,” Cecil said defensively.

Carlos shook his head, sighing, "If you say so." Then he paused, "Did you actually make copies of the tape?"

"Well, no," Cecil said, "that would be..." he lowered his voice, looking around the room before whispering "piracy."

Carlos made a thoughtful expression and said, "That's true, I suppose. And I suppose the Secret Police would take poorly to that?"

"Of course," Cecil said, "it's against the Council."

"Right, I'll keep it in mind," Carlos said, continuing to lean against him. "By the way, I don't meant to be intrusive, but would you mind if I just crashed here for the night?"

Cecil blinked, after a moment saying, "Uh, sure, that'd be... neat."

Carlos grinned, saying, "Thanks, but really, if it's too much to ask, I can drive myself home."

"No, no," Cecil said immediately, "it's fine."

Carlos said, "Thanks, I know it was kind of last minute..."

"It's fine," Cecil said, "Khoshekh will like the company."

"I'm sure he won't be the only one," Carlos chuckled. "I can take your guest bedroom."

"Uh, sure," Cecil said, blushing again and standing to remove the disc from the TV.

Carlos stood as well, saying more to himself, "Guess I should take another allergy pill if I'm sleeping here."

"Probably," Cecil said, "Khoshekh likes to sleep on people."

Carlos sighed, "Right," as he went back to his lab coat, rummaging through the pockets and pulling out a bottle of pills. He dry swallowed one, putting them back and asking, "Can I have some water?"

"Yes," Cecil said, nearly stumbling over his feet as he hurried to the kitchen for a glass of water.

Carlos added, "It's no rush, Cece," with a small smile upon seeing Cecil rushing to get his request done.

"Don't call me Cece," Cecil said, returning with the glass.

"Does it bother you?" Carlos smirked, adding 'thanks' for the water.

"No, not at all," Cecil said sarcastically, scooping Khoshekh up.

Khoshekh meowed contently, nuzzling Cecil's chin and licking his own paw as his tail swayed back and forth. Carlos said, "Good, 'cause I think it's a cute nickname, Cece," before taking a drink.

Cecil sighed, resting his head back on the couch as Khoshekh started kneading his arm.

Carlos sat back next to Cecil, saying, "Sorry for sort've inviting myself over. I'm feeling lazy tonight."

"No, it's nice," Cecil said, "just make sure not to step on the black tiles in the bathroom, they're lava."

"Oh...alright," Carlos said. "Thanks for the warning. Anything else I should know?"

"Uh, the sink might be cursed, but I don’t think so," Cecil said.

"I'll keep it in mind," Carlos said. Now that he thought about it, he had been staying over with Cecil a lot lately. He rubbed his neck, saying, "By the way, have you heard about the ads for condos coming to town?" casually.

Cecil nearly choked on his own saliva, coughing, "I suppose I have."

Carlos asked, "Well, I don't suppose you were thinking about getting one?"

Cecil choked further, asking, "In what way?"

Carlos said, "If you wanted to get one, I don't know, I suppose we could move in to one, y'know, together...if you wanted." Cecil appeared to stop breathing entirely, staring at Carlos slack-mouthed. "Cecil?" Carlos asked after a minute, snapping his fingers to see if he could jog Cecil out of it. Cecil continued to stare, his tentacles writhing around in confusion. "Cecil," Carlos raised his voice slightly, considering if what he was about to do would make it worse but putting his hand on Cecil's jaw, locking their gazes and saying, "say something." His tentacles froze in place and he blinked, a second later emitting a high-pitched noise. Carlos grinned, sighing, "Close enough. I'll take that as a yes?"

Cecil blinked again, suddenly coming back online and hug-tackling Carlos. Carlos ended up falling backwards onto the couch from the force of the hug, only getting time to say a quick 'whoa' of surprise before he was hugging Cecil back.

Cecil continued to squeal for a moment before straightening suddenly, brushing off the front of his shirt and vest before saying, "I mean, if you were so inclined."

Carlos snorted, remaining laying down and saying, "Yeah, I'm very inclined."

Cecil squealed again before clearing his throat again, saying "great."

Carlos sat forward, using a hand behind himself to prop himself up. "I can take care of buying one; I know you've got your show, so you must not have much time."

"No, no, I insist on at least helping out," Cecil protested.

"Don't worry about it," Carlos waved a hand dismissively. "Your audience needs you. Also, do you know what a condo is?"

"No," Cecil said cheerfully, now enthusiastically petting Khoshekh.

The cat purred in reciprocation, Carlos saying, "Alright, because I don't either, so I was naturally curious."

"I hear they're for sale," Cecil said, "we can check next week."

"Sounds like a plan," Carlos said, yawning a moment later. "I think the movie took more of a toll on me than I thought."

"I told you, it was terrifying," Cecil said, still grinning widely.

"Just because it was 'terrifying' doesn't mean it should make me tired," Carlos stifled another yawn, confused as to why Cecil's expression told him his yawns were cute.

"Then you should go to bed," Cecil said, still petting his cat with extreme enthusiasm.

"Probably," Carlos agreed, "but now I don't want to get off the couch. It's very comfortable," he ran a hand along the light purple fabric.

"You could sleep on the couch if you want, but my room might be more comfortable," Cecil said.

It was now Carlos' turn to blink. He slowly asked, "What happened to the guest bedroom?" with a sly grin.

Cecil blinked, realizing his mistake and blushing heavily, stuttering, "N-no, I meant...you...I mean you can sleep in my room I’ll take the guest..."

Carlos interrupted him with a kiss, saying, "You can stay in your room if I'll be there." He was still amused and amazed by Cecil's purple blush, and had yet to discover why his blood was such a color, whether that be extra hemoglobin or maybe that his blood cells didn't bond with oxygen and perhaps Cecil breathed a different element altogether. In Nightvale, anything could be possible. Cecil blushed harder, his radio voice lost in a desperate stammer. Carlos chuckled tiredly, "Or maybe I shouldn't if I'm going to cause you to malfunction by just the mention of it."

It was a long moment before Cecil was recovered enough to say, "You can... you can sleep wherever you want."

"Alright, let's go then," Carlos said, standing slowly and offering the radio-host a hand. Cecil scooped Khoshekh up again, standing with Carlos's help.

Khoshekh settled contently, making a quiet purr and cuddling into Cecil's chest. Carlos had to let Cecil lead them to his room, which was certainly something to behold. It was mostly shades of purple with white, black, and silver accents. The round mattress was at least king sized, and had a multitude of pillows sitting against the headboard that looked like a very large dream catcher. The quilt was purple with an inlaid swirling design that looked to be moving, and the sheets and pillowcases were white with hints of purple that matched the comforter. There was a sort of chandelier casting a soft white glow around the room, and no clocks in sight, as time didn't exist. There was a closet to the left and presumably a bathroom door to the right, and the carpet was off-white shag. There was also a white dresser sitting by the door to Cecil’s closet, and Carlos took note of the skinny jeans and other clothing articles hanging out of the drawers. Somehow, if Carlos had ever tried to picture Cecil's room (and he had), now he couldn't see it any differently.

Cecil blushed, looking around his room and saying sheepishly, "Sorry, I should have cleaned up first."

Carlos said, "Don't be ridiculous, it's perfect," as he headed for Cecil's bed, sitting on the edge and peering through the partially open bathroom door, seeing that the mirror was covered. "Why's the mirror blocked?" he asked. Cecil gave Carlos a wide-eyed look, not responding. "What's wrong, did I say another forbidden word?" Carlos asked, glancing back to the bathroom and hoping the Secret Police wouldn't kick down their door at any moment.

"No, but, Carlos," Cecil murmured, his voice low, "no-one uncovers their mirrors."

"Why not?" Carlos asked, a bit more awake now that his curiosity was turning on.

"Because they don't," Cecil whispered.

Carlos gave him a confused look, shaking his head and saying, "You're the Nightvale expert. Ah, just realized I didn't bring a change of clothes."

"Oh," Cecil said, blushing heavily again, "you could borrow some."

"Nah, don't worry about it, I already invited myself over," Carlos sighed, glad he had taken his shoes off prior to the movie and scooting over, laying in Cecil's bed, which was in fact extremely comfortable.

Cecil blinked at the sight, flushing and coughing as he went into the bathroom to change.

Carlos folded his hands over his stomach as he lay on his back. It was pleasantly warm in Cecil's room, so Carlos slipped his plaid button-up shirt off without thought to leave his tank top on. He always wore several layers at the lab in case of a chemical spill.

Cecil came out in a t-shirt and sweatpants, seeing Carlos in a tank top and choking again.

Carlos opened an eye, asking, "You alright?" as Khoshekh hopped up on the bed with him, curling up on a pillow and watching Cecil with an unblinking gaze.

"No," Cecil coughed, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What's wrong?" Carlos asked with a hint of concern, sitting up. Any muscle mass he had was gained from lugging equipment around the lab. Such it was that when he sat up, the muscles in his right arm became a bit more defined when he used it to prop himself up.

Cecil nearly fainted, saying, "Nothing," in a high-pitched voice.

Carlos raised a brow, shortly realizing he was sleeveless in front of Cecil. "Oh gosh, I didn't even think..." Carlos stammered, reaching for his shirt again.

"No, it's fine," Cecil squeaked, his tentacles making death-twitches.

Carlos' hand paused by his shirt, asking, "You sure?" slowly, as he didn't want to give Cecil a heart attack.

"Yes," Cecil said, one of his tentacles twitching and collapsing, "if you're comfortable."

"It was just warm, so I took it off without thinking," Carlos said, rubbing an eye. "Are your tattoos going to live?"

One twitched, Cecil saying, "Maybe," and slowly peeling them back into tattoos.

"Alright, and are you going to live?" Carlos decided to double check, glad he didn't have tattoos as well, or Cecil might very well have died.

"Maybe," Cecil repeated, lying back faintly.

Carlos put a hand behind his back to help him lay down, gently pushing with his other hand and moving the one that was behind his back. Khoshekh grumbled when Cecil lay down partially on his tail, flicking it away in irritation and staying where he was on the pillow between Carlos and Cecil.

Cecil stared at the ceiling, mumbling, "Should've turned out the lights."

Carlos chuckled, "I can get them." Before Cecil could object, he sat up and went to the light switch, finding the one in the on position and turning it off, not able to resist flicking another switch, which happened to make the underside of the bed glow softly purple. Cecil blushed, a tentacle peeling away to cover his eyes. Carlos raised a brow, asking, "Is there a reason your bed glows purple?" as he left it on for fun, rejoining Cecil. Cecil mumbled something, tentacles reappearing to drag blankets over his head. Carlos grinned, laying down and pulling the blankets over himself as well. He said, "I like it," as his hand roamed until it located Cecil's hand to hold. Cecil squeaked again, burrowing impossibly further under the covers. Carlos ran his thumb across Cecil's skin, feeling a shy tentacle and stifling a laugh. "It's funny, but I was under the impression I'd get to fall asleep seeing my boyfriend, not a pile of blankets." The radio-host remained burrowed, Khoshekh pawing at his head. Carlos smirked slowly, slipping under the covers and saying, "Well, if you'd prefer sleeping under the covers...may I join you?"

"Yes," Cecil mumbled, clinging desperately to a pillow

"Good," Carlos said, scooting closer albeit Cecil's probable death and putting an arm around him before shutting his eyes. Cecil's tentacles twitched again and he seemed to forget how to breathe. "Goodnight, Cecil," Carlos said, yawning and moving a foot to slip between his.

Cecil squeaked again, squealing a "Goodnight," and remaining frozen.


	2. Angels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, people are already reading. i can't thank you all enough, i didn't think this would take off so fast! as a treat, you get your next chapter right away :D

Carlos woke up, stretching and shortly remembering where he was. At some point, his and Cecil's heads had come out from under the blankets, and he was registering tattoos twined around his arms and his side. "Cecil?" he groaned tiredly, blinking his eyes open to let them adjust.

Cecil blinked his eyes open at once, looking at Carlos for a moment before saying, "Ah. Not a dream."

"What wuzn't a drem?" Carlos mumbled tiredly, rubbing an eye.

"You, uh...." Cecil said, "anyways, breakfast?"

Carlos grinned and mumbled, "Sure," before detangling himself from Cecil's various holds on him. He wasn't partial to leaving the bed, but made himself stand slowly, cracking his back and heading towards the bathroom.

Cecil stood, going to the kitchen to make oatmeal and strawberries. He hummed to himself as he worked, the oatmeal being only the appetizer. He wasn't sure how much Carlos would eat, so he figured, what the hay, he'd make a buffet. He chuckled to himself at his mental rhyme, in a bubbly mood due to the previous night's events.

Carlos ran a hand through his hair, freshening up and almost tempted to check in the mirror. He started to lift the edge of the fabric before deciding not to, instead returning to the kitchen. Cecil was in a light purple shirt, a purple vest, and dark purple tight fitting pants, as he had changed when Carlos was in the bathroom. He looked like a walking gradient. Even Cecil's hair seemed to accentuate his good mood, as the curve it in near his bangs stood out more. He hardly paid attention that he was using tentacles to fry and stir several things at once, not noting Carlos' entrance into the room.

Carlos watched him cook, still wondering at the tentacles and watching their snake-like movement. He leaned against the island in the kitchen, resting his chin on his hand and grinning.

Cecil was humming to himself again, something that had played for the weather once on his show. He turned to grab some salt, catching Carlos watching him out of the corner of his eye. Immediately, several tentacles flinched, their stirring and flipping pattern interrupted as Cecil said, "Oh," in surprise, blushing a soft shade of purple that only complemented his outfit.

Carlos grinned further, saying, "Morning."

"Morning," Cecil grinned sheepishly, two tentacles now wringing towel that had been cleaning up some of the crumbs getting on the counter. His hands were clutched close to his chest as he asked, "I do hope you slept well?"

"'Course," Carlos grinned, "your bed is rather comfortable."

Cecil blushed further, saying, "I'm glad you think so. It gets a little old after awhile." He had to take the towel from the two tentacles before they could tear it in half, asking, "Do you want coffee or something while you wait? Breakfast shouldn't be much longer."

"I can probably get the coffee," Carlos said, "it's fine."

"No no, you stay seated," Cecil insisted. "While you're in my house, you'll be treated properly."

"It's just coffee," Carlos laughed, staying seated anyways and running his hand through his hair again.

"Yes, but it's coffee for my Carlos," Cecil glanced to the hand that ran through his hair, making an odd excited shiver as he grinned and turned quickly to start up the coffee. He might actually have lightly tapped Carlos with a spatula if he had tried to exert energy to serve himself.

Carlos sighed, feeling something in his pocket and pulling out a pen, chuckling and mumbling "how i slept with this in my pocket all night..."

Cecil turned curiously, gasping and walking over, saying, "Quickly, give me that," with a panicked expression.

"What?" Carlos said, not surrendering his favorite pen just yet, "Did it leak?"

Cecil frowned, glancing around to the windows and saying quietly, "Everyone knows there's a ban on pens and pencils," a bit desperately.

Carlos chuckled, saying, "It's fine, its just a pen."

"Carlos, please, I don't want you to get into trouble," Cecil said, keeping his hand held out.

"But this is my favorite pen," Carlos complained.

"Then I'll get you a marker or something to replace it," Cecil said sternly, "but if the Secret Police catch you with it, even I can't do much." Carlos frowned, sighing heavily and handing over his pen. Cecil relaxed now that it was out of Carlos' hands, but held it himself as though it were toxic. He used the tips of his thumb and pointer finger to hold the tip of it, turning a dial by a drawer and pulling out what looked like a trashcan. However, when Cecil dropped the pen in it, there was a faint burst of orange shortly before Cecil shut the drawer. "Thank you," he sighed with relief, going back to cooking.

Carlos frowned, sighing, "It was just a pen. We have a million in the lab."

Cecil made a horrified little screech, putting his hands by his chin and saying, "You have to get rid of them before the Secret Police find out! But...I suppose it is rather brave to have so many," he ended up swooning more than panicking.

Carlos blinked at him, repeating, "They’re just pens," a bit dumbly.

"I know," Cecil grinned a bit dreamily, focusing on cooking yet again. "I hope you like eggs, bacon, and pancakes, by the way."

"Of course," Carlos said, still somewhat mourning his lost pen.

Cecil caught the tone, turning with a worried look and asking, "I didn't upset you by taking your pen, did I?" shakily.

"Only a bit," Carlos said, "you were being careful."

"But I've upset you," Cecil said with a crestfallen expression. "I should have made sure you were absolutely okay with risking keeping it. I didn't know it meant something to you."

"Cecil," Carlos chuckled, "I'll say again, it was just a pen. It was probably going to run out of ink soon anyways."

Cecil continued frowning, holding his own hand and saying, "Alright," quietly, finishing up the food. He slid a stack of pancakes in front of Carlos in various shapes: an eye, the Glowcloud, a feral dog head. He set a bowl of scrambled eggs next to it, and lastly the plate of bacon and two mugs of coffee. He put a smile on again, asking, "Need anything else?"

Cecil looked the pancakes over, grinning before saying, "Yeah," and reaching over, pulling Cecil by the collar gently and kissing him.

Cecil had started to look worried when Carlos said 'yeah', wondering if he had forgotten something and shortly losing his concerns in the kiss. Cecil grinned like an excited schoolgirl, his mood instantly picking up as he said, "Alright, well then...dig in, I guess," at a loss for words, as he had been taken by surprise.

Carlos grinned, starting on the pancakes and saying, "They’re delicious, Cece."

Cecil's cheeks blushed as he said, "I haven't made them in awhile--didn't want to lose my touch."

"You certainly haven’t," Carlos grinned, glancing to a tendril that was salting Cecil's eggs.

"Thanks," Cecil said, shortly saying, "oh!" as though remembering something, grabbing a smaller plate and putting some food on it, whistling for Khoshekh. The cat came running happily, mewling and hopping gracefully onto the counter to paw at Cecil's arm as he prepared a pancake for the cat.

Carlos grinned, eating his eggs and bacon happily and watching the cat.

Cecil said, "Calm down, Khoshekh, I didn't forget you," in a babying voice as he slid the pancake to the cat, who meowed in thanks before tearing into the mouse-shaped cake.

Cecil sat back down, saying, "Cats," to Carlos in a matter-of-fact tone before starting on his own breakfast.

Carlos chuckled, nibbling at his Glowcloud pancake and shaking his head affectionately.

When breakfast was over, Cecil had to allow Carlos to help put the dishes by the sink, but didn't allow him to help clean them. "I can get them later," Cecil said, "but I have to tune in to a few things before I go to work."

"Alright," Carlos said, deciding to wash them if they were still there by the time Cecil left.

Cecil walked over to his radio, flipping a switch before his cell phone buzzed. "I'm sorry Carlos, I have to take this," Cecil said apologetically, walking to the hallway to take the call. The radio was tuned in to Cecil's podcast station, where there was some other report being told while Cecil was out. Apparently the Glowcloud, All Hail, was supposedly sick, as he was raining now live animals as opposed to dead animal corpses. Carlos listened interestedly, wondering how an omnipresent glow cloud could get sick and what people were doing with the animals.

Cecil came back into the room in a rush, saying hurriedly, "I'm so sorry Carlos, I have to run. They want me to take this report," he waved towards the radio. "I hope the Glowcloud is ok," he pouted as he slipped a jacket over his vest, still leaving him with an abnormally thin and defined figure.

"It's fine," Carlos chuckled, "I’ll tune into your channel."

Cecil beamed at him, saying, "You can stay here if you want to, I'm sure Khoshekh would enjoy the company. Anyway, I'd better go before Station Management calls," he shuddered, as he had been talking to his new intern Lorraine a moment before.

"Go ahead," Carlos chuckled, waiting until he was out the door before starting on the dishes.

It only took about five minutes before Cecil's voice came on the radio. He greeted his listeners as usual, with a strange saying about socks today, and dove right in to the news. The Glowcloud was still telling them all to abandon what they believe they know and to bow down to him, but as mentioned before, the main difference was now the live animals. Nets were being set up to catch them, and it was decided that they would put up adoptions for the new animals of Nightvale.

Carlos listened as he cleaned, giving Khoshekh the leftovers and wondering exactly how many animals Cecil would try to adopt. Before he got into the traffic report, Cecil already forgot Carlos was listening and went into a story about how Carlos stayed with him last night and what a wonderful time they had together, although the movie they watched was sad and horrifying and maybe there should be a ban on weapons that can be used against innocent ghosts. Carlos sighed, blushing listening to the radio despite himself and drying the dishes, stacking them and going about general house tidying.

There was a brief statement included about the upcoming mayoral debate, as well as an advertisement for the condos (here Cecil went on a long ramble about how Carlos asked him if he wanted to buy a condo with him) before the weather report started to play. Carlos shook his head, playing with Khoshekh while the weather played.

There was a final story on Cecil's new intern being tragically vaporized by the light of a rogue street lamp when Lorraine was sent to solve an electrical issue after an animal had hit the lamp falling from the Glowcloud. Cecil gave his usual apology to the family of Lorraine, and mentioned he hoped to hear from Dana soon before telling his listeners goodnight, as he had to go home and tend to Carlos.

Carlos sighed again at that, throwing a cat toy for Khoshekh and watching the cat bound into the air to catch it before landing again. Khoshekh trotted back happily, setting the toy by Carlos' feet and meowing up at him, perching in anticipation as they waited for Cecil to come home. Carlos threw it again, this time flicking it so that it skittered under the couch and watching Khoshekh slide under, his back legs stuck out. Khoshekh made a dejected grumbling sound, shoving himself the rest of the way beneath the couch and appearing on top of it with the toy in his mouth, meowing around the toy.

Carlos chuckled, tossing the toy again as he heard the front door open.

"Oh, hi Carlos," Cecil said when he walked in and hung up his jacket, "I had forgotten you stayed here to-" he broke himself off, blushing and saying, "you...heard what I said about...oh, Void," he groaned.

"Yes, I did," Carlos chuckled, sitting up.

Cecil hopped over the back of the couch and sat, immediately curling into a small ball in the corner, muttering, "How embarrassing..." to himself, covering his head with a pillow.

Carlos chuckled, walking around to the bundle and saying "you do it all the time."

"I know, I lose myself when I'm at work," Cecil said, staying under the pillow. "I just...open up more, y'know? Besides, the listeners enjoy hearing about you."

"I'm sure," Carlos chuckled, rubbing Cecil's back.

Cecil hummed and purred quietly, his tense shoulders relaxing as the pillow remained situated on him.

"You going to come out anytime soon?" Carlos asked, rubbing his shoulder.

"That depends," Cecil's voice replied, but he shortly took his head out from under the pillow, remaining curled into a ball. Carlos chuckled, sliding his arms under Cecil and picking him up. "Eep-!" Cecil squeaked upon being picked up, blushing terribly and stammering, "I...w-what are...?"

Carlos chuckled, saying, "Couldn't resist."

Cecil swallowed, Khoshekh watching them with interest as Cecil said, "I...um...alright," before cautiously hooking his hands behind Carlos' neck instinctively. Carlos grinned, rubbing his nose with Cecil's as he began walking. Cecil grinned when Carlos touched their noses together, but shortly had to ask, "Um...where are we going?"

"Figured if you were going to try to become a pillow you might as well be comfortable," Carlos grinned, heading into his room.

Cecil blinked, opening his mouth and not able to say anything, instead blushing more as his tattoos made nervous writhing movements across his skin. He subconsciously tightened his grip on Carlos' neck as his legs curled closer to his chest, making him into an even smaller ball. Carlos chuckled, sitting on the edge of his bed and waiting to see if he was permanently attached. Cecil slowly relaxed his grip, remaining seated in Carlos' lap and saying, "Er...thanks?" as he was at a loss for anything else.

Carlos chuckled again, saying, "Are you going to be ok?" Cecil shook his head no, his heart still racing as his tentacles quivered. "Are you sure?" Carlos said, becoming slightly concerned.

Cecil nodded, his eyes rather wide as he thought and finally found words, "You...I guess...it surprised me?" he tried, rolling his eyes at himself and his inability to cope in these situations before he ended up facedown on Carlos' shoulder.

"Right," Carlos chuckled, rubbing Cecil's back.

Cecil purred quietly, but groaned, "I'm such an idiot," into Carlos' shoulder.

"No you're not," Carlos chuckled, continuing to rub Cecil's back.

"Yes I am," he grumbled, but purred anyway, not able to help himself and thinking he probably should stop calling himself an idiot before Carlos asked about it.

"No you're not," Carlos chuckled, "I don't just like you because you're cute." Cecil leaned up from his shoulder, deciding to attempt at staying in Carlos' lap as long as possible and making a small squealing sound in confusion. "What?" Carlos asked.

"You called me cute," Cecil said quietly in a giddy tone.

"Is this a surprise?" Carlos grinned, rubbing his back again.

"It's just...well, I mean, I like it when you say it," Cecil admitted, his back arching towards Carlos' hand.

"Well, it is a compliment," Carlos said.

"I know, but I feel like I don't deserve it," Cecil said, twiddling his thumbs.

"Why on earth not?" Carlos asked, picking him up again and shifting to lean back against the headboard.

Cecil chuckled at the seemingly obvious answer to the question. "You're just perfect, Carlos," he said as he leaned happily against Carlos' chest. Carlos snorted at that, rubbing Cecil's back again. "You are," Cecil said defiantly, "even your hair is perfect," he said, ruffling it.

Carlos laughed again, saying, "You have a very skewed sense of perfect."

"You're the one with the skewed sense," Cecil huffed, "and here I thought being a scientist you'd know you're perfect."

"Being a scientist, I know nothing's perfect," Carlos grinned, ruffling Cecil's hair in revenge.

Cecil's eyes narrowed when Carlos ruffled his hair, mumbling, "Except for you," and smoothing some of his own hair down.

"That's not how it works, dummy," Carlos laughed, rubbing his back.

"Sure it is, you were perfect since you entered Nightvale, and I have three eyes to see what I'm talking about clearly," Cecil pointed out.

"And I have science to back me up," Carlos grinned.

Cecil frowned, mumbling, "Good point," in admittance and rubbing his chin, snapping and saying, "Khoshekh probably agrees with me."

"I don't know," Carlos sighed, "I think he thinks I take up too much of your time."

Cecil snorted, "No he doesn't, he enjoys your company too, though not as much as me," he added before he could stop himself, a tint of purple returning to his cheeks.

Carlos grinned, saying, "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure," Cecil said sheepishly, looking at Carlos before averting his violet gaze.

Carlos chuckled, kissing his cheek and saying, "I’m not convinced."

"Not convinced I enjoy your company more?" Cecil asked with a raised brow, turning his head to the scientist.

"You're not a convincing person," Carlos teased.

"Am I not?" Cecil narrowed his eyes, and with a rush of defensiveness, leaned forward and kissed Carlos, putting a hand on his neck.

Carlos grinned, kissing him back for a moment before chuckling, "You're odd."

"So are you. Welcome to Nightvale," Cecil smirked, leaning to kiss him again.

Carlos chuckled, moving a hand to his back and the other to the back of his neck.

Cecil's other hand found Carlos' hip, the fingers on his neck bending to run through Carlos' hair. He ended up getting a bit too enthusiastic, leaning into him too much and making him lay back.

Carlos grinned, letting himself be leaned back and moving a foot over Cecil’s, mumbling, “Rather enthusiastic, today.”

Cecil blushed, saying, "Sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"Didn't say I minded," Carlos pointed out.

"Well," Cecil said, his tentacles slowly moving to hold Carlos gently, not sure what else to say and repeating, "well..."

Carlos grinned, kissing him again. Cecil was relieved he didn't have to try to continue talking, kissing him back and sliding the hand on Carlos' hip to his chest. Carlos grinned further, petting one of the tentacles that had gone near one of his hands.

Cecil started purring as the tentacle curled into Carlos' hand, the others gaining more confidence as Carlos continued petting them. Cecil ended up accidentally licking Carlos' lower lip, snatching his head back in embarrassment, stuttering, "Sorry, if you don't want to...I-I mean, if I'm being too..."

Carlos grinned, sitting up slightly and saying, "It's alright."

Cecil ended up leaning away from him in embarrassment, saying, "I feel greedy. It feels...not...nice."

"I certainly don’t mind," Carlos said, sitting up as well.

Cecil looked at him worriedly, setting his hands back in his lap and saying, "We've only just started dating and I'm already treating you like some kind of...object." His tentacles started to retract as he began panicking to himself, "Maybe moving in together isn't a good idea, maybe-"

Carlos cut him off by grabbing him, pulling him forwards and kissing him before pulling him into a hug, saying, "I said it was fine."

Cecil hugged him tightly, the tattoos sliding off his skin again to hold Carlos with more vigor as Cecil said, "Alright, if you're sure."

"I'm very sure," Carlos said, "if you want to reconsider getting a condo, I won't force you, but..."

"No, no, I'd still love one, though I'm not sure what they are," Cecil said quickly. "I don't know what came over me. Maybe I'm catching what the Glowcloud has."

"Maybe," Carlos chuckled, "but I assure you, I’m quite happy with the kissing."

"Ok," Cecil said, grinning. "Does that mean we can continue?"

"I'll have to consider it," Carlos grinned, leaning forwards to kiss him again.

Cecil wrapped his hands behind Carlos' back, saying, "That was a quick consideration," around the kiss.

"It doesn’t take that much thought," Carlos grinned, listening to Cecil purr. The purr deepened as they continued kissing, one of Cecil's hands moving to Carlos' neck as a tentacle replaced the hand behind his back. After a moment Carlos said, "We're going to have to stop or we'll miss the rest of the day."

"I wouldn't mind missing it for this," Cecil pouted. "Although, I do have my night show later..."

"You'll probably need to be prepared for that," Carlos sighed, kissing his forehead.

"Probably," Cecil sighed in agreement. "I do want to check on the Glowcloud later though, if Station Management allows it. Then there's the matter of a new intern," he sighed.

"I'm sure you'll find someone," Carlos said, rubbing Cecil's back again.

Cecil grinned and purred, saying, "We always do," in agreement. "I wish I had Dana back, though. No one has done a finer job as our Station intern."

"Maybe she'll turn up again," Carlos said, "you never know."

"In Nightvale, no you don't," Cecil agreed. "If you see something, say nothing, and drink to forget," he quoted himself from a podcast weeks ago.

Carlos chuckled, saying, "Unless it's a new scientist in town."

"There's always that exception," Cecil smiled, giving him a final kiss. "I wonder if the Glowcloud being sick will affect other things in town," he thought aloud.

"Maybe," Carlos said, "and by the way, I’m not allowing you to adopt more than five other pets"

"Awh, but so many need adoption!" Cecil complained.

"I know, but we can't keep them all," Carlos sighed.

Cecil pouted, mumbling, "I think we could," as he rested his head on Carlos' shoulder.

"Khoshekh wouldn't like it," Carlos said, rubbing his back.

"He might," Carlos grumped, not able to stay mad with Carlos' damn hand magic he must possess. Cecil was shortly purring again, tucking his head under Carlos' chin as one of his hands moved behind Carlos to his lower back.

Carlos grinned, saying, "I don't think he would."

"He could deal with it," Cecil mumbled, tilting his head up to nuzzle Carlos' chin.

"Could he?" Carlos chuckled, kissing his forehead.

"He could learn," Cecil said, about to add something when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He checked the ID, saying, "Old woman Josie?" with confusion, as he rarely got calls from anyone except those at work.

"Odd," Carlos frowned, letting Cecil answer.

"Josie?" Cecil asked into the phone, a tentacle once again replacing his hand on Carlos' back.

"Cecil!" Old Woman Josie said, "We're having a bit of an issue, dear."

"Issue? What's wrong?" Cecil asked in alarm, turning it on speakerphone. "I'm here with Carlos, by the way," he added affectionately.

"Ah, lovely, dear," Old Woman Josie said, "but I’m afraid the angels have left."

"Left? Where-" Cecil started to ask before they heard a scream outside from somewhere in the neighborhood.


	3. Planes Colliding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh gosh so many new lovely bastards reading our fic idk what to say *distant squeals of joy*. have another chapter you beautiful people. i'll probably be posting one more today, as a special treat ;3

Carlos threw on his lab coat again, putting on his shoes as they headed outside, spotting the issue almost immediately open opening Cecil’s front door.

Cecil breathed, "By the Void..." at the view of the scene. Pedestrians on the street were all fleeing in the same direction, away from...angels. Undoubtedly, that's what they were. A half dozen of them seemed to float along the ground, long wings draping against the pavement of the streets as cars swerved to avoid them. They all had four long, skinny arms, and their skin appeared black while their feathers were white with mottled black spots. Their faces were all different, some having multiple eyes, some having no eyes at all and just mouths that looked like a creepy, large, Cheshire cat smile. They didn't have legs, more like the robes they wore (if they were robes) were made of smoke and draped over their lower halves, slowly gliding along the ground.

Carlos cleaned his glasses, observing the angels and caught between worry and fascination. "Should we do something?"

Cecil looked around, his tattoos twisting nervously across his skin as he said, "I'm not sure," in a worried voice that still managed to be vanilla smooth. "I could call Josie again, she might know what to do, but...Angels exist?" he said more to himself, grinning in spite of the situation as two angels turned to look at them.

"Apparently, and I think they want something," Carlos said, looking between the two.

The two angels glided closer, using some form of hissing language that also included sounds like gargling, moans, and chitters. Cecil blinked, rubbing his chin and saying, "Josie would be much better as helping to translate their language, but...my Angelese is a bit rusty."

Carlos blinked, studying how the angel without a mouth could speak and simply nodding.

The two angels near them appeared to be in charge, as the other angels slowly started moving to them. Not to mention the two angels in front of them were both about eight feet tall. One of them pointed to Cecil with an arm, gargling something. Cecil thought, saying, "Uuhh.." before gargling something back. He coughed to clear his throat and tried again. The other angel hissed something and moved its arms in a wide arcing motion, indicating seemingly the whole sky.

Carlos stared, studying the movement of the other angels and not noticing the other pedestrians fleeing.

Cecil frowned, asking something else. He eventually held up a hand to pause their conversation, the angel with one eye glaring it slightly and looking to Carlos as Cecil said, "Carlos, could you call Josie back? I'll need to discuss something with her."

Carlos nodded, fumbling with his phone and calling Josie again, putting it on speaker. The angel clicked in curiosity and moved a hand toward Carlos' phone, studying it closely. The other angel in command hissed something else, catching Cecil's attention. They didn't have to wait long for Josie to pick up.

The phone clicked, Josie's voice saying, "Hello?"

Cecil said, "Josie, thank the Void you're there. We found the Angels."

"You did?" Josie exclaimed. "Where are they? Are they behaving?"

Cecil said, "Yes, yeah, they're behaving, but uh...other citizens can see them now. Is that normal behavior?"

"No," Josie frowned, "where are they?"

"They're right outside my house, actually," Cecil said as their hissing grew a bit more urgent. "Can you translate for us? I'm only getting bits and pieces."

"Oh, sure," Josie said, "could you speak louder, dear?" The angel leaned closer to the phone, seeming to ask the second angel a question. The second angel nodded and the first one spoke into the phone louder, hissing and gargling rapidly. Josie listened, replying in the same language as Carlos held the phone out awkwardly.

Cecil gave Carlos an apologetic look as the second angel added a few points to whatever the first was saying. Suddenly, Cecil's expression turned to curiosity, and then a glare as he practically spat something in their language, making the angels look up at him in worry.

Carlos frowned, looking between them as Josie tutted through the phone's speakers.

Cecil growled something else into the phone. One of the angels said something to him and reached a hand out, only for Cecil to gently shove the hand away, still frowning.

Carlos frowned further, asking, "What's wrong?" as Josie said something which Cecil ignored, though the Angels listened.

Cecil sighed, "I'm sorry Carlos, we'll have to discuss this inside. Secret Police might get here at any time." He said something to the angels, waving a hand in dismissal and adding a ‘thanks’ to Josie on the phone.

Josie switched to English, saying, "No problem dear; I told the angels to come home."

The angels nodded and headed off, their wings dragging behind them as the two main angels raised their four arms, gathering the other dozen or so angels to them. Cecil ushered Carlos inside with a motion, saying, "We'll call you later, Josie."

"It's all good, dear," Josie said, sounding a bit worried, "I’m sure everything is alright."

Cecil growled, "We'll see," before he had Carlos hang up the phone. He sat roughly on the white leather couch, hooking his hands behind his neck as his tattoos writhed violently.

Carlos frowned, sitting next to him and asking, "Are you alright? What’s wrong?"

Cecil took deep breaths, eventually saying, "I'm sorry Carlos, it's just...we might have more of a problem than we realized. Our plane of existence might be colliding with that of another, and if what the angels say is correct, this would be very bad news."

"I see," Carlos frowned, setting a hand on Cecil's back.

Cecil took another breath, sighing contently and leaning closer to Carlos as his tentacles spread off his skin to wrap behind the scientist's back. "Multiplanar theories must be rather mind-boggling for someone outside of Nightvale," Cecil sighed. "If you want, I can explain it to you as best I can."

"You can give me the quick version," Carlos said, "i might need to know later."

"It probably won't compare to your sciency words," Cecil chuckled, though rather humorlessly. "But...there are various planes of existence that are all overlapping all the time. Humans can only see on the first plane, but certain beings like myself can see through multiple ones if we so choose--it just takes a lot of energy. The angels apparently only used to exist, so to speak, on the third or maybe even the fourth plane. Since our plane is colliding with another, they suddenly became visible to you...follow so far?"

"Sure," Carlos said, filing the information and rubbing Cecil's back.

"Well, there are seven planes total, but the seventh would be...the plane directly opposite of this one," Cecil frowned. "In many ways, our plane would be their seventh plane. And the beings on that plane are...far from hospitable," he glowered, his tattoos curling tightly again.

"Do we know what's making the planes collapse?" Carlos asked trying to calm him down by continuing to rub his back.

Cecil groaned, "Not yet we don't, though I'm fully ready to blame my opposite," he growled, his voice growing more loathsome.

"There are exact opposites of people, too?" Carlos said, surprised.

"Yeah," Cecil grumbled. "I've met mine, once. If I ever see him again..." he growled, his tattoos writhing as the room suddenly looked to be paling in color, turning black and white and gray except for certain splotches of purple, like Cecil's eyes and tattoos.

Carlos frowned, looking around the room and saying, "are you sure you're alright?"

Cecil shut his eyes tightly, admitting, "No, the thought of meeting him again isn't a good one. I'm sorry, you should never have to see me like this, perfect Carlos," as he forced himself to relax and the room's color returned to normal.

Carlos sighed, pulling Cecil onto his lap and wrapping his arms around him, saying, "It's fine."

Cecil's tentacles slowly peeled off himself and wrapped around Carlos, saying, "Sorry," again anyway and tucking his head by crook of the scientist's neck. "If I'm being honest, the thought worries me as well."

"It's alright," Carlos sighed, rubbing his back, "I'm sure we'll be able to take care of it."

"I hope so, otherwise our weekend plans will be ruined," Cecil chuckled flatly. Khoshekh wandered into the room, after having run away when he sensed Cecil wasn't in the best of moods. He hopped onto the couch, meowing in concern. Cecil immediately brightened and turned more apologetic, were it possible, "Ooh, I'm sorry Khoshekh, I didn't mean to startle you," as he pet the cat.

The cat mrowled, nuzzling into his hand as Carlos asked, "do you know if there's anything we can do?”

"As of now, I'll work on something," Cecil said. "Though, now that I think about it, the planes colliding might be why the Glowcloud is sick. I wonder if anything else weird will happen around here," he asked as though weird things weren't already a daily occurrence.

"We'll have to see," Carlos said, scrubbing a hand through Cecil's hair.

Cecil's head ducked away much like a cat might react, saying, "Hey," half-irritated and half-amused. Carlos grinned, running his fingers through his hair again. "Agh," Cecil said, ducking away and backing off Carlos' lap. However, he realized only scooting father away on a couch wasn't the best escape method.

Carlos continued to grin, Khoshekh hopping off the couch as he leaned over, continuing to ruffle Cecil's hair until it stuck up, laughing at the sight.

Cecil frowned, his tentacles struggling to hold Carlos' hands away, as Cecil was trying to get them to push him back while all they seemed to want to do was pull Carlos over him. He used a hand to smooth it down again, using his other hand to fend Carlos off.

Carlos pouted, relaxing his efforts and saying, "It looked cute."

Cecil frowned for a new reason, saying slowly, "I didn't mean to upset you; it just feels weird is all. Here, let me show you," he grinned, leaning up in a flash and ruffling Carlos' hair in turn.

Carlos raised a brow, so used to his hair being a mess that he didn't note any particular difference. "You didn't upset me."

Cecil pouted, "You're no fun, but your hair is still perfect," he grinned, ruffling it again whether or not it bothered Carlos.

Carlos tilted his head slightly, saying, "It's never... oh never mind."

Cecil giggled, hug-attacking Carlos into the couch the next moment on impulse.

Carlos impacted the couch with surprise, grinning and ruffling his hair again.

Cecil snorted, but didn't try to move away, rather laying his head on Carlos' chest as Khoshekh escaped to sit on the back of the couch, watching the two. His tentacles began wrapping around Carlos again, Cecil sighing, "I give up," in reference to them, as they kept insisting on being out. Carlos chuckled, combing his fingers through Cecil's hair to fix it and ignoring the tentacle curling into his hair. Cecil grinned, secretly enjoying the fact Carlos was playing with his hair and letting his tattoos move where they would, one of them ending up caressing Carlos' jaw. Cecil blinked his eyes open at that, brushing it away and saying, "Sorry, maybe I shouldn't give up on controlling them just yet."

Carlos chuckled, saying, "It's fine. And much as I'm enjoying this, maybe we should get up."

Cecil groaned, "Maybe planar collisions can wait until tomorrow?" as he was reluctant to move.

"Can they?" Carlos grinned, Khoshekh meowing.

"I think they can," Cecil said, gaining a false hope that it might've worked.

"I'm not sure they can," Carlos said, "and I should probably check on the lab."

Cecil frowned, sighing, "I suppose, if it's for the welfare of science." He leaned up, the tentacles easily pulling Carlos with him until they were sitting again. "Just...be careful. I'd hate to lose you before we get a chance to buy a condo."

"You be careful," Carlos grinned, giving him a quick kiss.

"I will be," Cecil promised, pulling him into a longer kiss, one that involved putting a hand behind Carlos' neck. "You can stop by here again any time when you're done in the lab. I might have to report to Station Management, though."

"Go ahead," Carlos chuckled, kissing his nose, "wouldn't want you to get into trouble"

Cecil shivered, "They might not be happy about the situation. And please remember to avoid the yellow helicopters."

"I will," Carlos said, "watch out for running pedestrians."

"Always," Cecil grinned, nuzzling their noses together and standing up with him, retracting the tentacles.

"Come on," Carlos sighed, combing through Cecil's hair again, "I'm sure the other scientists are starting to talk"

Cecil blinked, asking, "But...weren't they already talking? I thought talking was a common trait among scientists."

"No," Carlos said, "I meant, like, talking."

Cecil said, "Uhm...about science?" in confusion.

"No, about..." Carlos frowned, "i obviously slept here?"

"Yeah?" Cecil said, tilting his head before it suddenly clicked. He blushed instantly, saying, "O-oh, you mean...sorry, if you didn't want them to think that you could've left, I-I mean..."

Carlos grinned, petting Cecil's hair to calm him down and saying "it's fine, if they're smart they won't make a big deal of it."

Cecil grinned sheepishly, saying, "Oh Carlos, I don't want you to have to threaten your coworkers. However, if they bother you, you can always call me to handle it."

"Don't worry," Carlos said, "they're just jealous"

Cecil blushed again, saying, "They'd only be jealous they don't have you for a boyfriend. I'm glad I got here first."

Carlos snorted at that, saying "trust me, I’m the lucky one here."

"No, I'm definitely luckier," Cecil said, putting a hand behind Carlos' back.

Carlos sighed, saying, "Aren’t we supposed to be going somewhere?"

Cecil sighed, "I know, but it's much more appealing hanging out with you."

"You go talk on the radio, I’ll try to make sure science stays working," Carlos grinned, bopping Cecil's nose.

Cecil rolled his eyes, saying, "If you insist. I'll be on the air soon." He kissed Carlos' cheek before they went outside to get in their separate cars, Cecil's being a bit more modern than Carlos' old Ford, but it was nothing too fancy--just a black Tesla Model S.

Carlos waved as he got into his car, starting the engine and heading to the lab. 

Cecil respectively steeled his nerves and headed to work, noting the citizens were still off the streets from the incident with the angels and figuring he'd have to be the one to announce it was safe for everyone to go back about their business.

Carlos sighed, turning into the lab and getting started on the day's work.


	4. Planes Colliding part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and thus you finally get around to the other side of this fic. once again, can't thank you all enough for checking this out! told you the action would pick up :3

"Until next time, Desert Bluffs. Until next time." Kevin shut off the podcasting equipment, taking a deep breath of content and grinning from ear to ear—literally, his mouth could stretch into a wide, Cheshire-cat smile when he willed it. Vanessa entered the room to hand him his coffee. He thanked her and shook her hand, taking a sip and licking his lips, glad she had remembered to add some blood. Heavens knew there was plenty of it here. He grabbed his jacket off a coat hanger, said goodbye to Station Management and quickly escaped the building, as he often forgot Station Management didn't enjoy being spoken to. He hummed to himself as he started his car and headed to the Strexcorp complex to visit Diego, the head scientist. Just the thought made his head swim, and he had to immediately stop thinking of the scientist to avoid a car crash. He pulled up to the building and scanned a keycard that Diego himself had authorized him to have. The door beeped and slid open for him, and he said 'thank you' to it merrily, forgetting it was inanimate and going to the science wing.

Diego was standing with his hands behind his back, overlooking the workers of the lab from a balcony and watching them carefully. Every now and then he glanced to the screen on the opposite wall, charts and graphs changing and fluxing there.

Kevin saw him through the glass sliding door, the last thing between himself and Diego. He took a deep breath, and a moment to admire Diego's form from the back, before scanning his card and walking through the door as it slid open. "Hello, Diego," Kevin said with his wide grin, moving to stand by him. Even after they had started up a relationship, Kevin felt slightly intimidated by the scientist, but had also learned Diego preferred it when they stood directly next to one another.

"Hello, Kevin," Diego said, glancing to him and smiling before returning to looking at the workers. "Broadcast over?"

"Yes, seemingly just moments ago," Kevin said. "It was a wonderful broadcast, today, as usual. How's work here?" he quickly asked, not wanting to focus on himself.

"Just fine," Diego said, "i'll have to listen to the re-run later."

Kevin's wide smile disappeared to be replaced with a somewhat nervous smile, "You missed it? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You've got more important things to attend to."

"I can't listen when i'm at work, it's not good for productivity," Diego reminded him, "i'll listen to it when we get home."

"Alright," Kevin said, brightening up again. His tattoos, which resembled cracks weaving across his skin, moved in sort of clicking motions. It often happened when he was excited. He stole a glance sideways, bathing in the radiance that was Diego at work, and it was all he could do to keep from swooning at the sight of the scientist at home in his lab coat.

Diego nodded, giving out a few more orders before nodding to Kevin, leading the way out of the lab.

Kevin eagerly followed, staying just a step behind him as usual. Diego's strides were longer than his, anyway. "You all wrapped up here?" Kevin asked.

"I'm done with work today, yes," Diego said, giving him a smile as he punched out and started down the hallway.

Kevin grinned widely, saying, "Good! I'm sure it was wonderful. Are we going to dinner tonight, or if you're tired we can just go home?"

Diego thought a minute, eventually saying "i'll cook. We can go straight home, i think."

"Great!" Kevin smiled, beaming his pointed teeth at his boyfriend. "Oh, I think you're going to find today's podcast interesting, Diego."

"Care to fill me in?" Diego smiled, getting into his company car- he hated having others drive for him.

"That would spoil the re-run," Kevin chuckled nervously, not sure if he would upset Diego by saying so.

"I'm sure you can give me a preview," Diego said, glancing to him as he started the car.

Kevin said, "Oh, alright," in defeat, not wanting to spark up an argument and also not wanting to pester Diego. "We had a report from the top offices of Strex today that our plane is colliding with another! Isn't it exciting?"

"Interesting," Diego grinned, "that explains some of the readings we were getting today."

Kevin had to stop himself from bouncing in place, "Ooh, what sorts of readings? If I'm permitted to know, at least." Kevin knew some knowledge was only meant for top scientists like Diego.

"I can tell you that they were off the charts, and showed a lot of energy fluxes," Diego said, speeding a little as he drove.

Kevin glanced to the speedometer, fidgeting as he knew speeding might get them in trouble, but feeling exhilarated at the same time towards Diego and his tendency to break the rules. He said, "Oh, that is interesting," when he snapped out of it.

"It is," Diego said, "I’m hoping to run a few experiments."

"What sort of experiments?" Kevin asked with interest, his tattoos twitching.

"We're testing it, but we might be able to, as they are mirrored planes, switch some occupants," Diego grinned.

Kevin blinked, asking, "Isn't that dangerous? What if the occupants get trapped on the other plane?" as he wrung his hands together.

"Well, I hope to be the one traded with my opposite," Diego said, "I'm fairly sure that I'll be able to find a different way back if I must."

Kevin flat-out frowned at that, and it was a deep frown. "I'm sure you could," Kevin said at length, looking away and not voicing his concern. The third eye on his forehead, with a yellow iris in contrast to his two pitch-black normal eyes, blinked in worry as his tattoos twitched sporadically.

Diego pulled into his driveway, unbuckling and leaning over to kiss Kevin's cheek, saying "i'll be fine. We won't attempt anything until we're sure it's safe."

"Alright," Kevin said, getting out of the car as well, cheered up minutely even by the quaint gesture like a kiss on the cheek. He walked beside Diego as they entered Diego's house, which smelled of chemicals the minute they opened the door. Kevin breathed in deeply with content, as the whole house smelled like the scientist, and he hoped it'd stay that way. "What did you have in mind for dinner?" he asked for a change in topic.

"I was going to make salad and steak," Diego said, hanging his lab coat by the door.

"Mmm, sounds delicious," Kevin grinned, hanging his coat up as well and moving to the radio system. He knew Diego's home well enough by that point to know how to start playing recordings of his daily shows.

Diego washed his hands and headed to the kitchen, pulling out ingredients as the radio started.

Kevin wore his signature smile as he heard his own voice fill the house, making the red blood stains seem darker and accentuating the smell of entrails and chemicals. He sat at the island between the kitchen and living room, leaning his head on his hands as he listened to his usual, "Good morning, Desert Bluffs!" and began mouthing his own podcast to himself, already knowing exactly what was going to be said.

Diego glanced to him, grinning as he noticing him mouthing the broadcast in perfect synchronism. He started cooking, listening to the report as he seasoned the lettuce and steak.

Kevin continued mouthing the words, pausing when he got to the part about the strange white void he had seen that day. Until now, he had forgotten it as another strange occurrence, but hadn't realized Diego, and all Strexcorp for that matter, would probably be very intrigued by his encounter with the strange man that looked almost exactly like himself. Diego stilled his cooking to listen, tilting his head interestedly. Kevin stopped mouthing along when a man who called himself Cecil came on the podcast instead. He sounded terrified, though Kevin wasn't sure why. How could anyone be afraid of their peaceful desert town? He frowned further and glanced to Diego when Cecil described the picture of Kevin he had left on his desk, and ended up calling Kevin a monster.

Diego frowned, listening and saying, "So, clearly there are some distortions of perception in between the realities."

"I agree," Kevin said, hoping Diego wasn't too upset, as his radio self mentioned moments after Cecil had left that they had given each other a hug. "I still hope he's alright," Kevin said, the wide smile returning but not showing his teeth.

"I'll have to check when I’m over there," Diego said, giving him a smile

Kevin's teeth immediately flashed into view when he caught Diego's smile. Kevin inhaled and said, "Smells delicious. By the way, how uh...how soon were you going to go over there? Do you even know where there is?"

"It's on the first plane," Diego said, "if we time it for a power flux at a point of collision, i should slip right through."

Kevin mumbled, "Still sounds dangerous," as a small section of his tattoos peeled off his arm to tap against the counter. The tattoos looked like insect legs when separated from his skin. There could be multiple small ones or about six to eight large ones that could break away from his back depending on his mood.

"I'll be fine," Diego said, wrapping an arm around his waist, "when am I not?"

Kevin tensed at the touch but relaxed, the tattoos molding together and moving from his arm to make one large insect leg that reciprocated Diego's action by tucking behind his back. "I trust you can take care of yourself," Kevin said. "That won't stop me from worrying, though."

"I could make someone babysit you while I’m gone," Diego teased, removing the steak from the heat.  
Kevin chuckled, "I can handle myself, thanks. Although now I'm curious...you mentioned switching places with an occupant. Doesn't that mean whoever you switch with would come here?"

"Yes, I suppose," Diego said, "the not-me would be here."

Kevin frowned, "The not-you? What would he do while he's here?"

“I’m not entirely sure,” Diego said, “just don’t get too attached to him."

"Why not? Shouldn't I show him the same courtesy as any other guest?" Kevin asked, his tattoos twitching nervously again.

"Of course," Diego said, "but we don't know if he'd be dangerous, and he'd disappear when i came back."

"Ah, right, you know best," Kevin said, trying to keep an upbeat attitude. "When you say not-you, do you mean he's some sort of...anti-clone? Or do you not know that for certain yet?"

"He'll be me," Diego said, "likely look like me, but he might very well be my opposite."

Kevin looked panicked, "But if he's your opposite, he wouldn't be so perfect and gorgeous! What if he's mean? I don't know if I can stay nice to someone who's mean..." he rambled, his tattoos manifesting into their six spidery legs only so they could twine around each other in worry.

Diego sighed, rubbing Kevin's back and saying, "If he's nice or mean, we have to treat them from a distance. I'm sure it'll be fine."

Kevin nodded, humming at Diego's touch and saying, "You're probably right, as usual. I'll try my best with him."

"I'm sure you will," Diego said, continuing to rub his back as he finished adding seasonings to the salad.

Kevin relaxed his insect legs back into tattoos, feeling them fold into his back and watching the skin on his arms appear to crack with a growing smile. "I don't mean to sound impatient, but is dinner ready?" he asked.

"Dinner's ready," Diego said, "just have to set the table."

"Fantastic! I can get the dishes," Kevin offered, hopping off the chair and moving to fetch the needed table-setting supplies. He noticed a candle was lit on the table and swallowed, forcing himself to remain calm.

Diego brought the food over, retrieving napkins and forks as well and helping set the table.

When they were settled, the room was bathed in a nice orange glow from the candles, somehow complementing the redness of the room. Kevin waited for Diego to start before trying some steak, moaning, "Mmm, delicious as it smells," before taking a drink of milk.

"I'm glad," Diego said, sipping his own glass of milk and letting the red juice of the steak run into his plate.

Kevin licked his lips, starting on the salad as well and humming in appreciation. The next bite of steak made a red dribble fall down his chin, but he promptly ignored it and continued eating, his pointed teeth good for this sort of meal.

Diego couldn't persuade Kevin not to help clean up the dishes once dinner was over, saying "do you have time to watch a movie?" as he put away the last dish.

"Oh, sure!" Kevin said with enthusiasm, not having been expected to be invited to stay. "I just don't want to impose..."

"If it were imposing, i wouldn't have offered," Diego chuckled, heading to the living room.

"I guess so," Kevin chuckled more nervously, following him like a lost puppy. He carefully sat down by Diego, leaving a short space between them, as he still felt uncomfortable in these situations, not knowing what Diego wanted to do.

Diego seemed to think for a moment before asking "what do you want to watch?"

Kevin said, "Oh, anything," noncommittally. "I'm partial to zombie films, but if you don't want to do that, I'm happy with anything you have."

"No, zombie movie sounds nice," Diego said, picking one at near random and sitting back again.

Kevin grinned, wanting to close the space between them but somewhat upset Diego hadn't yet and decided maybe Diego didn't feel like it tonight. The only reaction on Kevin's part that'd give him away were the fact his tattoos seemed to be abnormally dense on his left arm, which was closer to the scientist.

Diego glanced to him, opening his arm and saying, "Come on."

Kevin beamed, accidentally letting a quiet squeal of happiness escape through his teeth as he scooted over and leaned into Diego's shoulder, making a clicking sound that could pass for a purr in another universe. Diego smiled, wrapping an arm around Kevin's shoulders as they watched the movie.

Kevin tucked his legs up onto the couch as some point, though he leaned on Diego through the entire movie. He flinched at certain parts when the zombies had their heads blown off, mumbling, "Poor things..." as his tattoos slowly tucked behind Diego's back. Diego rubbed his side absently, watching the movie in silence as always.

When the credits finally started rolling, Kevin yawned, "That was a wonderful film. Good choice, Diego," as the zombies ended up taking over the world in the end.

Diego simply nodded, saying, "It was a good movie."

Kevin turned to look at him, saying, "You don't sound too enthused about it," before realizing the placement of his tattoos. "By the Sun, I didn't even notice," he said hurriedly, snatching the legs back into tattoos.

Diego chuckled, "I didn't mind. And I’m just distracted thinking- i'm probably going to go to the other plane tomorrow."

Kevin's tattoos twitched at that, saying, "So soon?" sadly.

"Yes," Diego sighed, "the timing has to be right." he leaned over and kissed Kevin briefly.

Kevin's mind malfunctioned as it usually did when Diego kissed him. He said, "W-well...then I wish you the best of luck," slowly before taking a brave move and leaning forward to kiss him again.

Diego smiled, wrapping an arm around him and after a moment saying, "I'm sure I’ll be fine."

"I know you will; you have to be. More than just Strexcorp needs you, you know," Kevin grinned, nuzzling into his neck.

Diego grinned, giving him a hug and saying "we'd both better rest for tomorrow."

"Right, so...guess I should head home, then?" Kevin asked tentatively, his insect legs unwrapping to join the hug.

"You...can stay here overnight, if you want," Diego said.

Kevin's mouth went dry, his third eye widening as he forgot how to speak at all. Finally he squeaked, "Really?"

"Of course, there's plenty of spare bedrooms," Diego said, "you could borrow some form of nightclothes."

"Wow, thank you!" Kevin said, his smile wider even than normal. "That would be lovely."

"It's nothing," Diego smiled, "though we still both need a good night's rest."

Kevin nodded happily, "I know, I just feel so honored to be sleeping in the same home as Strexcorp's head scientist! Do you think they'll mind?" he asked, suddenly somewhat nervous.

"No," Diego said, "it's helpful to productivity, I assure you. It's quite alright."

Kevin relaxed, saying, "Okay, if you're sure. Not that you're never not sure. Or...I mean, you know, you always know what's right and all," he rambled on.

"You can relax, you know," Diego said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Whatever Kevin had been saying turned into a mumble and a sort of squeal. He coughed to clear his throat, the tattoos concentrating beneath Diego's hand as he said, "I try to be calm, but it's rather difficult when everything gets so exciting," apologetically.

"It's alright," Diego said, "will you survive if I show you your room?"

"I think so," Kevin said, standing with him.

"Are you sure?" Diego said, walking down the hall.

"I'll certainly try," Kevin smiled, following him a step behind as usual. "Um...you mentioned nightclothes?"

"Yeah, you can borrow some of my clothes," Diego said, stopping and saying, "this is my room, yours is right next to it. There's a connecting bathroom."

"Alright, thanks, this is so kind of you," Kevin said giddily, looking around the room, which was even more gloriously bloodstained than he had pictured it. He was hiding much of his excitement at the prospect of wearing some of Diego's clothes, planning on accidentally wearing some of it home to continue being able to smell the scientist.

Diego let him explore his room as he retrieved pj's- a loose t-shirt and sweatpants.

Kevin looked back when Diego re-entered the room, saying another thank you as he took the clothes, beginning to change and thinking nothing of it. His tattoos indeed made it look like there were large zigzagging cracks down either side of his spine and curved somewhat around to look like his sides were cracking as well.

Diego studied him for a moment before clearing his throat, snapping out of it and turning to return to his own room.

Kevin blinked, realizing what he had just done and mumbling curses such as 'idiot' to himself, not being big on swearing. He threw his own clothes on the back of a chair, saying, "Goodnight, Diego," through the bathroom, wondering if the mirror inside it would be fixed, as people never seemed to be able to see a reflection through their mirrors anymore.

Diego walked back through the bathroom to him, already in his nightclothes. "Good night, Kevin. Sleep well," and kissed him.

Kevin's tattoos eagerly joined in the kiss, wrapping behind Diego to make it linger before he said, "Sweet dreams," in a voice like honey--his radio voice, which he would sometimes slip in to when giving orders to people, and he generally tried to suppress the tone around Diego.

Diego chuckled, kissing his forehead and saying, "I believe they will be."

Kevin's third eye shut happily whether or not Diego voluntarily meant to kiss it. The pupil in it dilated a bit as Kevin said, "I hope so, my handsome Diego."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a quick reminder to excuse any missed grammatical errors. also a reminder to leave comments on what everyone's opinion of this fic so far are! we'd love to hear from you, and it might just make us update more often ;)


	5. A Whole New Plane (part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh gosh i'm sorry it took forever to update this, to try and keep a long story short we lost some of what we had written due to my computer memory needing to be wiped >_> i thought my co-author had a copy saved and she didn't so we had to figure out what we were missing! i'll get the next part up ASAP

Carlos sighed as he finished filling out the graph and lab report, packing his things away and waving to the other scientists as he headed out the door. He got into his car, noting a few more cats running around from where the Glow Cloud had dropped them and sighed.

Carlos' phone buzzed, as Cecil always knew when he got off work. Cecil himself hadn't been on air yet today, but had to stay at work in case more strange occurrences cropped up to talk about.

Carlos answered his phone, not putting the car into drive to avoid a traffic violation.

"Hello Carlos," Cecil said, his grin practically audible. "I hope you are in fact off work and not having a late day?"

"I'm off," Carlos said, "I’m free, too, if you want to come over."

Cecil sighed, "I'd love to, but Station Management demands I put in an extra hour or so of work today in case something pops up. You can tune in to my show to pass the time, if you wanted."

"Or I could visit you," Carlos grinned, resting his head back against the headrest.

Cecil squealed, "You'd do that? I mean you don't have to, science must be taxing work..."

"'Course I’ll come over," Carlos said, his grin widening, "I’d love to."

Cecil blushed, though Carlos couldn't tell, "That'd be...neat! I'll have my new intern open the door for you. Just try to avoid Station Management's door, they're a bit on edge today."

"I'll keep it in mind," Carlos said, starting the car, "I’ll see you soon."

"I look forward to it," Cecil chirped, "drive safely," he added before hanging up.

Carlos chuckled, putting his phone away and turning onto the road.

Cecil was in his booth, purring some sort of comforting words into the microphone in regards to today's traffic. His new intern, Robert, recognized Carlos from the lab coat and let him in, saying Cecil gave him permission to enter the booth whenever.

Carlos nodded, waiting until the weather came on before entering the booth, sneaking up behind Cecil and wrapping his arms around him.

Cecil blinked in surprise but shortly smelled the chemical scent that lingered on Carlos' lab coat after work. "Carlos," he said, his tentacles peeling off his skin to wrap around Carlos' arms as he hummed in content. "Glad you made it."

"Hey," Carlos grinned, moving to sit next to him in the other spinning chair.

One of the tattoos stayed stuck to his arm, Cecil checking a device and saying, "We've got about two more minutes on today's weather report. I'm sure my listeners will be excited to hear about my guest in the studio today," he beamed.

"Don't go overboard," Carlos grinned, raising a brow at Cecil.

Cecil blushed slightly, "I'll try not to, but they will probably hope to hear something sciency. So...work your magic, I guess," he chuckled.

"Something sciency? About what?" Carlos asked, now somewhat concerned.

Cecil shrugged, "I don't know, they'll be amazed with anything you have to say, I'm sure. Just talk about something you studied at the lab today. OH! Or maybe talk about the thing about how plants breath."

"Are you sure the whole radio audience wants to know about photosynthesis?" Carlos asked.

Cecil shrugged, saying, "I thought it was interesting. I knew some plants could sing but I never heard of them breathing. And the absurd notion we breathe what they breathe out? I thought everyone knew our air came from underground government filtration unit tunnels. This whole plant thing might be a breakthrough!"

Carlos chuckled, deciding to let him be excited about it and saying, "I suppose it is. I can give a brief description of it."

"Alright," Cecil said with delight, checking the device again and saying, "Oh, twenty seconds. How do I look?"

"While your physical appearance has no effect on your ability to talk on the radio, you look ravishing," Carlos grinned. Cecil blushed, though that was his only movement besides his tattoos wringing around one another in silent exultation. He didn't even look to be breathing and only continued staring at Carlos with a dazed sort of smile. Carlos grinned, kissing him briefly and saying, "Five seconds."

Cecil coughed to clear his throat, saying, "Thanks," quietly, rolling his shoulders and repositioning himself by the microphone as his radio voice filled the room with its warm, chocolate smooth tones. "We're back, listeners. If you're curious about the 'we', I have a very special guest in the booth here with me who came in minutes ago. I think you'd all know who he is by now, being the top of his sciency class."

Carlos snuck a kiss on Cecil's cheek before saying "I'm just here on an unofficial visit."

Cecil covered a squeal with a small cough, saying, "We're all very glad to have you, Carlos. Listeners, he came to visit me after he got done at work, isn't that just so sweet?"

Carlos blushed slightly, saying, "I had free time," in self-defense.

"I'm glad you chose to spend it here," Cecil purred. "What were you working on at the lab, today?"

"We were just synthesizing some of the new chemicals today," Carlos said, realizing too late he had spoken in science-terms.

"Ooh, sounds difficult," Cecil said, hardly noticing and pretending he knew exactly what Carlos meant. "And like it'd take some extreme skill," he winked, as the audience couldn't see it.

"It's not that hard," Carlos said blushing in spite of himself.

"Mmhm," Cecil hummed skeptically. "I know you don't like showing off, Carlos. Anyway, how long will you be in the studio with us today? You're welcome to stay until the end, but I do have a few more stories to cover."

"I think I can stay here," Carlos said, half-wondering why this part of the conversation was on the air, "go ahead."

"Feel free to add comments where you think they're necessary," Cecil grinned, tapping some papers and saying, "right, on to a new report. The angels have yet to be seen again. Maybe they went back to whatever place they call home, or maybe they just went to get some ice cream. Maybe they're lactose intolerant," he shrugged. "No one knows." With that, he launched into a couple other stories, prompting Carlos to speak on occasion.

Carlos mostly sat back throughout the performance, swishing his chair back and forth lightly and listening to Cecil perform. After a while he became mischievously curious, and set his hand casually on the back of Cecil’s neck.

"Perhaps it was Hiram's way of sayiiiee--" Cecil's voice faltered at Carlos' touch in the middle of a story about the upcoming Mayoral debate. He said, "Sorry listeners, Carlos startled me," as he used a tentacle to attempt to shoo Carlos' hand away.

Carlos grinned, waiting until he continued the report before moving his hand around the tentacle, brushing his thumb on Cecil’s neck.

"We weren't shooo..." Cecil said, purring in spite of himself and blushing, "ack, wait, Carlos," desperately, not wanting to make him stop but needing him to stop the distractions for the sake of the show.

Carlos grinned, pausing again and letting him continue the report before casually shifting his hand to his back. Cecil gave him a sideways look but continued talking, only now his voice had a purr beneath the normal speech.

Carlos started giving him a light back rub, keeping a straight face as he did. Cecil's latest word turned into a hum, purring again before he snapped out of it and said, "Uuh, listeners, why don't I-ee, take you too a uh...pre-recorded message from theee Faceless Old Woman who secretly lives in your home." With that, he pressed a button and collapsed onto the desk in front of him in a purring fit, groaning, "Why'd you pick today to do this while I'm working?" as he angled his back for Carlos to keep rubbing it.

"Couldn't resist," Carlos said, continuing to massage his back.

Cecil hummed, purring louder as a tentacle split from his back to rest on Carlos' lap while another brushed the arm rubbing his back. Carlos pet the tentacle in his lap, not noticing that the pre-recorded message had ended.

Cecil was completely absorbed in the back rub, purring and humming and acting all-around feline as his back practically arched into Carlos' hand while he sighed, "That feels incredible."

"I think you're actually a cat," Carlos chuckled.

"Khoshekh might've started rubbing off on me," Cecil grinned, purring in content as more tentacles joined the first in asking for Carlos' attention, one of them running through his hair from behind.

Carlos grinned, realizing the on-air light was on and murmuring, "Cecil, did the message end?"

The purr cut off, Cecil checking the device quickly and coughing, "Ah, right, I meant to pick a longer...right," as he rubbed his neck.

"So it's broadcasting," Carlos said.

“Yeah, sort of,” Cecil chuckled with embarrassment. “Sorry about that, dear listeners.”

Carlos cleared his throat, removing his hand and letting Cecil finish the broadcast. Towards the end of the broadcast, Cecil mentioned a sudden influx of messages from his fans, and was about to read one but stopped when he read ‘What was he doing’ and suddenly claimed they were out of time. He bade his listeners good night, and the on-air light shut off again, Cecil hooking his hands behind his head in content.

Carlos stopped right before they left the building, saying, “I gotta go to the bathroom, I’ll be right back.” He kissed Cecil’s cheek again, heading to the bathroom.   
He was washing his hands when he felt strangely light-headed and, with a strange tugging at his sternum, felt himself stretch and pull backwards into an eternal void.

~~~~~~~~

Diego landed in a strange new place, blinking as he looked around to see a dingy bathroom with a dented stall door, gauge marks and a running sink. “Not the most auspicious place to appear,” he mumbled, smoothing back his hair and straightening his lab coat. He looked around the area for a moment before checking in the bathroom mirror, lifting the tarp over it and observing himself for a moment before heading out of the room.

Cecil looked over after giving some instructions to Robert for locking up the studio, smiling when he saw Carlos and asking, “Ready to go?”

“Yeah,” Diego said, still a bit dazed by his surroundings.

“Alright, let’s go then,” Cecil said, leading him out towards the parking lot. He twirled his car keys around his finger, pausing and saying, “Shoot, we drove separately. I don’t suppose you want to take one car to my house…”

“Actually, that sounds like a good idea,” Diego said. “We could save some gas, and all.”

“You’ll have to get your car from the studio later; are you sure?” Cecil asked.

“Yeah, it’s fine, you can drive,” Diego nodded.

Cecil grinned, “Alright then, let’s go.” He lead Diego towards his black car, not noting that Diego was still highly distracted looking around at the strange town not covered in blood and gore. 

Cecil popped into his driver’s seat and started the engine, saying, “I’m thinking about making bloody portobellos tonight. We could go out for them again, too, if you wanted.”

“Sounds delicious, but maybe it’d be best to stay home,” Diego said, masking his fear of going out in public.

Cecil shrugged, “Sure. I’ll make sure to have someone deliver your car to my house so you can go home whenever you’d like.”

Diego said, “Uhm…actually, if it’s alright, maybe I could spend the night at your place?” He couldn’t admit he had no idea where his counterpart lived. However, at Cecil’s reaction, he almost wished he hadn’t suggested it.

Cecil turned a shade of purple, stuttering, “Oh, uh, yeah, that’s just fine, I mean if you want to, there’s plenty of room…”

“Alright, thanks,” Diego interrupted him. 

Cecil cleared his throat and said, "Alright," lamely, continuing to grin and glancing in his mirrors, which technically had pictures of roads taped over them, before driving off.

Diego nodded, looking around the small town and wondering where the corporation was, and how it operated without it.

Cecil made normal small-talk with 'Carlos' on the way, pulling into the driveway and saying, "We could still go out. I don't know how good my bloody portobellos will be."

Diego frowned, unwilling to be exposed to multiple people and instead saying, "No, home is fine."

Cecil shrugged, saying, "Alright," and getting out of the car, opening the door inside and hearing a happy meow and thud from where Khoshekh was approaching. The cat rubbed against Cecil's leg, purring before he caught sight of Diego and hissed. Diego frowned glaring at the cat when Cecil wasn't looking and backing away slowly. Cecil gave Khoshekh a confused look, saying, "I'm sorry Carlos, I don't know what got into him," before he picked up the growling cat. Khoshekh continued to growl and glare back at Diego, his tail puffing out.

"It must be some of the chemicals on my coat," Diego said, coming up with a random excuse.

Cecil frowned a bit, saying, "It could be. One minute." He pet the cat soothingly, meowing to it as he brought it to the kitchen and started setting up its dinner. "Maybe he's a bit hungry, too," Cecil said.

"Right," Diego said, watching the cat warily and giving it the evil eye.

Khoshekh returned the evil glare, his tail somewhat receding but twitching in anticipation, mainly wanting to claw Diego's face off but not able to properly convey it to his owner. Once the food was in the bowl before him, Khoshekh dug in but continued glancing up as he chewed to watch Diego.

Diego casually moved to the other side of the island, asking, "Do you want help cooking?"

Cecil shook his head, saying, "I can take care of it," with a sly grin, tentacles manifesting and moving to open cabinets and such to grab the necessarily utensils and ingredients. Diego blinked, pretending to watch casually as he studied the unexpected appendages. Cecil glanced over his shoulder, saying, "Make yourself at home, Carlos. No need to stand uncomfortably."

"Right," Diego mumbled, looking around and locating a stool to sit on. He leaned against the island, watching how the tentacles moved.

They moved fluidly around the room, seemingly under their own control as Cecil hummed to himself, making the shadows in the room appear to swim. One of the tentacles left its duty in chopping garlic to caress the back of Carlos' hand, Cecil sighing, "Sorry," without looking. Diego had flinched, Cecil thankfully not noticing. He frowned, looking at the tentacle and watching it curl around his hand. Cecil eventually took note of the one tentacle skipping out on duty, snapping something at it in a foreign language. It wilted sadly, squeezing Diego's hand in farewell before going back to chopping garlic and other various seasonings.

Diego chuckled, finding it interesting that Kevin had always seemed to have perfect control of his extra limbs.

Cecil glanced over his shoulder again to Carlos, asking, "Something funny?"

"The tattoos move interestingly," he said, hoping that was a decent enough excuse.

Cecil raised a brow, saying, "You've mentioned once. They don't bother you, do they?"

"Uh, no, they're just interesting," he said, continuing to watch them.

"Oh, good," Cecil said, going back to cooking. "Dinner's about done, could you set the table?"

"Mhm," Diego said, guessing at the locations of plates and silverware and getting it mostly right.

Cecil didn't notice him missing a few dish locations, instead letting the tentacles set two plates of the bloody portobello caps on the table across from one another, asking, "You want wine or something?"

"Whatever you want to drink is ok," Diego said, not wanting to blow his cover by asking for something considered odd there.

Cecil nodded, two tentacles grabbing a bottle of wine and a corkscrew as a third hooked two wine glasses to set at their respective spots at the table. By that time, Khoshekh had finished his food and hopped onto the counter, trotting around it and moving slower when he neared Diego, giving him a suspicious look and growling softly.

Diego half-glared when Cecil wasn't looking, serving them both a mushroom to cover his look to the cat.

Khoshekh spat at him in retaliation for the look, Cecil sighing, "Khoshekh, stop it. It's just Carlos," as a tentacle pushed the cat off the counter, making the cat meow indignantly and trot off to another room.

"I think I have anti-pheromones or something on my coat," Diego said, accepting a glass of wine.

Cecil chuckled, "Sure," as he had no idea what Carlos was talking about. He sat down and said, "Hope I still have a knack for these," before digging in, a tentacle pouring them wine.

Diego tried his, making an appreciative "mm" sound and saying, "they're good"

"Thanks," Cecil said, smiling and taking a bite of his own. A tentacle wrapped slowly around Diego's ankle, making Cecil glance to it as though he could see through the table.

Diego raised a brow, asking, “Do you often have trouble making them behave?

Cecil sighed, “We’ve been over this, Carlos. They’re mostly under control, but sometimes they think they know what’s best, and sometimes I don’t entirely disagree, and then they automatically take it as permission and...” he trailed off sheepishly, taking another bite of portobello.

“Did you consider that lesser brain waves might be the cause of your inability to properly control them?” Diego asked.

Cecil blinked, saying, “No, can’t say I have,” slowly. “They’re under the same will as the rest of me, but...I guess it’s a distributed will.”

“No, I meant, do you think if you were of a higher intelligence you would be able to control them?” Diego rephrased, forgetting to be subtle.

Cecil frowned, “I don’t really think intelligence has to do with it,” as the tentacles slowed down in their previously happy wiggling movements.

“Ah,” Diego said, backing off the subject, “alright.”

Cecil studied him, saying after a moment, “You...never seemed to bring up being bothered by them, before. That is, if you were bothered, I know you say they don’t, but I can try harder to keep them under control if you wanted...”

“No, it’s fine,” Diego said, “I was just curious, we’re studying octopi in the lab.” A hasty lie.

“Oh,” Cecil said, feeling relieved. “I didn’t know you kept animals at the lab.”

“Sometimes,” Diego said, “It depends on what we’re doing.”

“I suppose it would,” Cecil said, finishing his dinner and sighing from a full stomach. “I can get your plate when you’re done,” he added.

“I am,” Diego said, barely scraps left on the dish, “I can get it, though.”

“Alright,” Cecil said, standing and taking his plate and cup over to the dishwasher, also remembering to take Khoshekh’s plate, the cat himself having disappeared long ago.

Diego helped clean up the meal, deciding to do another experiment when he was done and turning Cecil to kiss him, pretending it was Kevin for the sake of science.

Cecil was a little taken aback but accepted the kiss all the same, humming quietly and putting a hand behind Carlos’ back, the tentacles joining in more cautiously, as he was still subconsciously afraid Carlos was bothered by them.

After a moment Diego had to switch, as Cecil’s mouth was too different from Kevin’s for him to stand. He instead went to kissing his neck, which was a lot more familiar. Cecil tilted his head up, humming in appreciation and wondering where the sudden affection was coming from. He excused it as Carlos’ way of apologizing, pulling Carlos’ hips a bit closer to his own without meaning to.

Diego didn't dissuade him, wondering vaguely how he was supposed to explain this was as far as he was going. Cecil leaned his head to nip Carlos' earlobe, a tentacle curling around Carlos' lower back carefully. Diego blinked trying to avoid the intimacy as much as possible without being noticeable and attempting to shift aside Cecil's shirt.

Cecil drew his head back with a blush, saying, "Erm...sorry, I know it's right after dinner and there might be some wait-twenty-minutes rule..."

Diego frowned, not tugging the shirt further but mumbling, "Kevin never had that problem."

Cecil lashed his tentacles back, immediately backing off a step and asking, “What did you say?” with a look that was a mix of horror and disgust, but also confusion and betrayal.

“Ah,” Diego said, also stepping away and saying, “didn’t know that was out loud.”

“Well it was,” Cecil said with incredulity, the look of utter confusion remaining on his face. “But...did you say Kevin? As in Kevin Free?”

“Yes, that is his name,” Diego said, wondering if he was going to react violently to this and realizing he’d left his return-to-Desert-Bluffs button in his lab coat pocket, hanging by the door.

Cecil growled, “Carlos, why on earth would you know how Kevin reacts to something like this?” as the room began to slowly lose its color, his eyes remaining a deadly shade of violet.

“Because he’s my boyfriend,” Diego said, “and stop calling me that.”

With that, Cecil’s tentacles exploded into being as the room went utterly black and white, one tendril wrapping tightly around Diego’s middle and shoving him back against the counter, another grabbing his neck and another pulling his head back by the hair as yet two more grabbed his arms and locked them in place. “Who are you, then?” Cecil growled. “What have you done with my perfect Carlos?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for not losing hope, I swear we'll try to update more regularly from now on. hope you enjoyed it! and just wait until you see Carlos' side of the story ;3


	6. A Whole New Plane (part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gah i'm really trying, I'm a TA at a summer camp this week so hopefully after this is done I'll be able to publish more. Have this to sate your appetites my lovelies

Carlos stumbled into a strange, alarmingly blood-covered living room, his hands still dripping wet and his mouth hanging open.

Kevin looked over from the island where he had watched Diego disappear. Another scientist, clearly so by the lab coat, stumbled into the room. Kevin stood, keeping his distance and saying, “Hey there, friend,” with a forced cheerfulness.

Carlos was still comprehending the bloodstains and the fact that he’d disappeared from the bathroom and had no idea where he was, saying, “What the hell?”

Kevin said, "I know this might be a bit disorienting for you, but I can promise you'll be safe here," as he attempted a smile.

"What the hell?" Carlos squeaked, noticing the creature standing in front of him. It looked a lot like Cecil, but horribly... not. There was a jagged smile across the whole of his face, stretching far more than it should, and his eyes...

Kevin's smile faltered a bit, saying, "There's no need for language like that, here," as he wasn't a fan of swearing, and neither was Strex. "Though, I do understand you must be confused."

"What... what are you?" Carlos asked, realizing he'd lurched backwards from the creature.

Kevin said, "Well, I'm not quite sure what you mean. I'm same as you, through and through. Ooh, that rhymed!" he clapped shortly, stopping and clearing his throat when he realized he said it out loud. "But, erm...I suppose I'm partially human, partially-" here he said a word that definitely wasn't human.

Carlos frowned, saying, "You... you're not related to Cecil are you?"

Kevin said, "The man that looks like me? Well, I suppose 'related to' is one way to put it. He was such a nice guy, gave me a hug and everything," he grinned fondly.

Carlos looked at him blankly, asking, "Who are you? Where am I?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, that was rude of me," Kevin said. "I'm Kevin, and I'm the Voice of Desert Bluffs, this wonderful little desert community where the sun is always shining, praise unto it."

"Right," Carlos said, still backing away from him very slowly.

Kevin said, "I'm sorry, I know everything is sudden and all. Diego said you might be scared..."

"Who the... who is deigo?" Carlos asked.

"Oh, Diego is your opposite, just like Cecil is mine," Kevin explained, "or, I'm fairly sure he is," he added as his tattoos shifted, appearing to make new cracks across his skin.

Carlos flinched back further, asking, "What's wrong with your skin?"

Kevin glanced down to his arm, saying, "Oh, those have been there as long as I can recall. They're sort've like tattoos, but they can peel off like this," as the cracks receded to form six insectile legs on his back.

Carlos watched, blanching slightly (which, with his complexion, made him look a bit yellow).

Kevin squeaked a bit, tucking them back in quickly and saying, "Sorry, here I am trying not to worry you and I forget you might not find those normal."

"No, I'm sorry, that was a bit rude," Carlos said. "Cecil has something similar, just... not quite looking like that."

Kevin waved a hand, saying, "It's quite alright. Can I offer you something to drink?"

"No, thanks," Carlos said quickly, "why am I here?"

"Well, that might take a bit longer to explain," Kevin said. "Diego just wanted to...wait, he said I shouldn't talk about it, it might upset you," he frowned, looking away sheepishly.

"You can't pull me out of my home and put me wherever I am and not tell me why," Carlos frowned.

Kevin rubbed his arms, hugging himself and saying, "Well, that's true, I suppose it'd only be fair..." to justify it to himself. After a moment he swallowed and said, "Diego wanted to run a few simple experiments. He just wanted to know what the other plane was like."

Carlos frowned, "That seems to imply he's over in my place."

"He...is," Kevin confirmed slowly. "He also wanted to meet Cecil after I talked to him briefly the day we met in the portal between our planes."

Carlos frowned, saying, "He knows there's a million ways this could go wrong."

"He does," Kevin sighed. "I tried to warn him against it, but...he couldn't be dissuaded. If it's any consolation, he doesn't plan to stay long."

"How does he intend to get back?" Carlos asked, fairly sure that his opposite wouldn't hurt cecil- after all they have to be similar people.

"I'm not positive on that, myself," Kevin frowned. "He just assured me he had a way. He told me if he tried to explain how it worked, he'd baffle me with his sciency nonsense."

Carlos frowned, saying "do you know how long i'm stuck here?"

Kevin shook his head forlornly, saying, "Sorry, friend, I don't. Diego didn't plan on staying for more than a night there if necessary, though, so you might as well settle in. Well, except in the room second door down the hall on the left; that's Buster's."

"Who is Buster?" Carlos asked, glancing down the hall nervously.

"He's a StrexPet," Kevin said as though it should be obvious.

Carlos frowned, asking, "A what?" slowly.

"They're really cute little guys, everyone has one," Kevin said. "They're about this big," he gestured with his hands, "and they have big duck eyes and little nubby feet. They're just so cute!"

Carlos frowned, now inching away from the hallway and saying, "One of those attacked Cecil and Khoshekh."

Kevin said, "Oh, it might have just been trying to take a sample. They're meant to do that using whatever method they can."

"It almost killed our cat," Carlos said indignantly.

"Then your cat may have tried to resist it," Kevin said. "I'm sorry for the little guy, but Strexpets can't tolerate ill cooperation."

"It attacked first!" Carlos said. "It nearly hurt Cecil, too."

Kevin frowned, saying, "We've had no reports on a Strexpet attacking anyone in Desert Bluffs. Are people on your plane prone to violence?"

"Well," Carlos frowned, "that's... debatable."

Kevin sighed, "I'm sorry, we're off to a bit of a bad start. If Buster bothers you, just sort've...push him away with a broom or something. Oh," he checked his watch, saying, "I have my show later today, and...oh dear," he mumbled when his watch flicked to its calendar setting, magnifying over today's date so he could read set events.

"What?" Carlos frowned, half expecting an invasion of small creatures.

"Nothing, just...it might be inspection day," Kevin said with a nervous smile.

"Inspection of what?" Carlos frowned.

"Uhm...inspection of whether everyone is who they say they are and making sure there's no inter-planary travel," Kevin explained quickly, "but I'm sure you'll be fine. You look just like Diego, after all."

"But wouldn't they expect that?" Carlos asked, starting to panic, "if that's what they're checking for..."

Kevin said, "No, they never expect it really, they just like making sure. Besides, they don't actually do anything unless you do something to make them suspicious. Just act like Diego; he's a scientist like you, so it shouldn't be too hard."

"Is there something you're supposed to say?" Carlos asked, "does he have any tics i should know about?"

Kevin thought a moment, rubbing his neck and saying, "Uh, we're kind of dating," as he blushed a shade of orange.

"Well, yes, i'd assume so, if you're cecil and my opposites," Carlos said.

Kevin said, "If the inspectors come, I may have to act slightly intimate. Just let me do most of the talking."

"All right," Carlos said, "whose house is this?"

"Diego's, actually, but they're used to me being here," Kevin chuckled shyly.

"All right," Carlos said, "and his name is Diego?"

"Yeah," Kevin confirmed with a bit of a dreamy smile. "Just...say something about science and they'll leave you alone."

"All... right," Carlos said, shifting nervously and glancing to the door.

Kevin caught the glance and said, "You can relax, they have to get through the rest of the neighborhood before getting here."

"Right," Carlos frowned, glancing around the room again and straightening his lab coat.

"You sure you don't want something to drink, at least?" Kevin offered, already forgetting he wasn't supposed to be making any attachments to Diego's opposite but finding he couldn't help himself.

"I'm fine," Carlos said. "Is there anything else i should know?"

Kevin thought a moment, saying, "If they mention anything about our Smiling God, just grin best you can and draw a U in the air, like this," he demonstrated. "It signifies a smile."

"Right," Carlos frowned, "that's... normal."

"Here, it is," Kevin smiled widely. It snapped back to normal when he remembered he should avoid scaring the guests, saying, "By the way, I never got your name?"

"Carlos," he said, still staring at his mouth, "you?"

"Kevin, again," Kevin said, "the Voice of Desert Bluffs. It's a pleasure," he offered a hand.

"Right," Carlos said, slowly and carefully taking his hand.

Kevin couldn't help the next wide smile, glad Carlos had taken the proffered hand and saying, "I hope you find your stay to be a good one."

"Uh...huh," Carlos said, staring at his mouth and wondering what his skull structure looked like.

Kevin seemed to notice what Carlos was staring at, asking, "Do you ah...not see much of this where you come from?" as the size of his mouth shrank.

"No, I don't," Carlos said, "what does your bone structure look like?"

Kevin said, "That's a good question, but x-rays aren't allowed to be used by anyone except those higher up in Strex for justified purposes. I don't know what my skull looks like, but you're more than welcome to study it."

"Maybe later," Carlos frowned, still trying to figure him out and unwilling to consider the eyes.

"Alright, let me know if you have other questions," Kevin said. "The investigators should be here before I have to go on for my show, so I'll be around to answer most of their questions."

"Alright," Carlos frowned, "all... right. Do they... look like you too?"

Kevin said, "Oh no, no one in Desert Bluffs looks quite like me," proudly. "I suppose if you mean the eyes, that came with being the Voice of the Bluffs."

"Rrright," Carlos said slowly, "Cecil doesn't have... his eyes aren't like that."

Kevin nodded, "I remember. We didn't get the chance to meet for long; it was rather a shame."

"Right," Carlos said, remembering exactly how Cecil described the meeting.

Kevin said, "Anyway, make yourself at home. If you have questions, let me know, though I might not be able to answer some either from no knowledge of it or being physically incapable," as though the last statement were normal.

Carlos nodded slowly, glancing about and trying not to think too hard about where the blood had come from, or why there were only drawings of teeth.

Kevin sat on a couch, watching Carlos and saying, "You know, you're allowed to sit..." as the scientist had been standing awhile, seeming unsure of what to do.

Carlos glanced to the chair, asking, "Is it going to attack me?"

Kevin waved a hand dismissively, "Don't be silly, there hasn't been a report of a chair attack in months! And all our furniture was Strex approved."

Carlos frowned at him, saying "right," uncertainly and slowly sitting down.

Kevin said, "Er, do they not have chair attacks from the first plane?"

"No," Carlos said, looking at his chair nervously.

Kevin chuckled, "Really, it won't bite. That's Buster's job. And, actually, now might be a good time to ask questions that might seem obviously answered in case the investigators ask you something directly."

"Like what?" Carlos asked, glancing to 'buster's' door and back to him.

"Uhm..." Kevin thought, "oh, Diego's head of Strex's science division, so don't be afraid to act a little high-and-mighty. They're used to being talked down to."

"Ok," Carlos said, "and strex is..?"

"Well, Strexcorp, of course," Kevin said. "The wonderful company that runs this town and most others!" he said, though his smile seemed to be slightly less genuine now.

"Uh," Carlos said, "rright. strex...corpse."

Kevin said, "Uh, just...Strexcorp," though he didn't deny Strex corpse was probably more accurate. "Anyway, try not to act too nice. Diego is always a bit stern with his employees, but still respectful to his peers."

"Right," Carlos mumbled, "right. He's Diego."

"Mmhm, handsome Diego," Kevin said dreamily. He checked his watch again, humming in thought and saying, "They should get here in about fifteen minutes."

"Right," Carlos said, wondering if cecil acted that way around him.

Kevin rubbed his neck, saying, "I guess let me handle it if they ask why you're not at work. Diego hardly gets breaks," he frowned.

"Can I call in sick?" Carlos asked.

Kevin cringed as though Carlos had just threatened to beat him with a stick, saying, "No, Strex wouldn't appreciate that at all. They'd rather you go missing for an hour and are found by their own investigators than being told you...can't...work," he said with difficulty.

"Oh...kay...." Carlos said, blinking slowly at him.

Kevin shivered, saying, "No, just...if they mention work, say you're sorry to be missing it."

"All... right then," Carlos said, still staring at him in concern. Kevin cleared his throat, glancing to the window as if he were expecting someone very different than an investigator. Carlos fidgeted nervously, trying to remain calm and professional looking.

Kevin sighed, "I'm sure we'll be all right," as an attempt to comfort him. "They rarely stick around long, here."

"Right," Carlos said, "what's my excuse for missing work?"

Kevin flinched again, saying, "I'll handle it, you'll just have to roll along with it."

"Oh..kay," Carlos said, shuffling his hands in his pockets nervously.

A couple minutes later there was a knock at the door that made Kevin jump and say, "One minute, please," pleasantly enough, giving Carlos an apologetic look as he stood to go answer the door. Carlos stood as well, doing his best to look calm and nonchalant.

Kevin opened the door to two men in suits, one who was not tall and another who was not short. Kevin smiled at them, saying, "Hey there, friends. What can I do for you?"

"It's the scheduled check-up day," the man who was not tall said. "Don't tell me you forgot to check your calendar?"

Kevin snorted and laughed, "No, don't be ridiculous. I always make sure to check my calendar regularly in case of changes."

Carlos didn't offer comment, instead walking around the edge of the couch without getting really close to the men.

The man said, "Good to hear. We'll try not to keep you long, Kevin. We know your show is very important to the town."

"Yes indeed," Kevin said, his voice changing slightly as he continued, "this town would be nothing without its Voice." The second half of his statement carried an undertone of power to it, much like when Cecil used his radio-voice.

"We just have the routine questions, and you're scheduled to come in today," the man who was not short said.

Kevin faltered at that, saying, "Ah, that...wasn't on my calendar," with a glance to Carlos.

Carlos blinked at him, the man who was not short saying, "It's scheduled," flatly.

Kevin coughed, saying, "I see. Now then, your questions?"

"Yes," the man who was not tall said, scanning a clipboard that seemed to have an electronic screen. "Names?"

"Kevin R. Free, at your service," Kevin said cheerfully enough, though it was perhaps a forced cheerfulness.

"Diego... Santia" Carlos said, trying to seem relaxed.

The man nodded, sliding a finger across the clipboard as though flipping a page. He glanced over it and looked back up, asking, "Why aren't you back at Strex, sir?"

Kevin said, "We were just taking a little break is all. His fledglings were being stressful," as he walked over to Carlos, giving him another apologetic look before tucking an arm around him and leaning his head on his shoulder.

Carlos did his best to appear that this was normal for him and that he didn't want to run in the opposite direction of Kevin, instead simply standing there looking a tiny bit uncomfortable.

The man frowned a bit and said, "Sure. Employees can be the worst. Anyway, Diego, I want to hear it from you. What were they annoying you about?"

Carlos blinked, saying, "They..." He wracked his brains quickly, trying to think of something that would bother him and not get them in trouble, "they filed a report with illegible handwriting."

The man sighed, "We'll have them work on it, sir. I'm sorry to hear it. Illegible writing is lazy work," he scowled, writing something on the clipboard.

Carlos blinked and nodded, regretting his choice as it apparently would get people into trouble and there would have to be a physical copy of the messy work to prove he wasn't lying.

Kevin seemed to catch on to this, saying, "Don't blame it on them, they do the best they can," with his radio voice, making the man pause in writing. Carlos blinked at him before trying to pretend that this was normal for him, giving the men a bored look.

The man cleared his throat, saying, "We might be able to overlook it. Anyway, Kevin, you need to report back to Strex HQ with us."

Carlos glanced to Kevin, pretty sure that that hadn't been the plan but unable to casually ask for him not to go.

Kevin said, "Uh, can I meet you there in five minutes?"

The man pinched the clipboard under his arm, saying, "Sorry, you know protocol requires being on time."

"We need you to come with us," the man who was not short said.

Kevin nodded, sighing, "Very well," before turning to give Carlos another worried glance. On a whim, he added, "Diego, feel free to wander the house," a bit pointedly.

"Sure," Carlos said, watching the man who was not short take Kevin's arm.

Kevin gave him a look, tattoos twitching irritably, making the man who was not tall take a step back. He said, "Sorry to interrupt your time together. We'll get him back soon," he added to Carlos.

"Thank you," Carlos said, trying to seem unperturbed.

The men nodded and lead the way out the door, Kevin's smile fading as he followed, looking a bit like a kicked puppy.


	7. Recalibration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this one might seem a bit short, but that's because the next one is pretty long in comparison. Camp is over so hopefully I can update more often. Yeee!

By the time Kevin had returned Carlos had abandoned his attempts at cooking, spending most of his time shooing Buster away with the broom and trying to reside in the kitchen in peace, keeping the pet at a distance. Buster kept warbling at him, reaching for him with his nubs of arms and pausing to look over when the front door opened. Kevin looked more or less untouched, but his smile was wide and somehow more unnerving than it had previously been. Buster trilled and ran over to him. Kevin said, "Hey there," in an overly-cheerful tone, bending down and not even flinching when Buster bit his arm. Instead, Kevin simply stood, holding Buster in one arm and petting him with the other, saying, "How adorable," more to himself.

Carlos blinked, watching him and asking, "You alright?" slowly

Kevin looked up, still smiling and saying, "Fit as a fiddle, friend," before chuckling at his accidental alliteration.

"Uh," Carlos said, "are you sure?"

"Of course, what could be wrong with me on such a fantastic day?" Kevin said with all-due cheer. He set Buster down, who scuttled along beside Kevin as he walked forward. "I sure hope you didn't mind my absence. I'm here to take care of you, now."

Carlos backed up, saying, "You're oddly cheerful."

"And why shouldn't I be?" Kevin continued smiling, his black eyes seeming cold rather than having some spark of warmth. "It's always perfect in Desert Bluffs; there's nothing to be upset about!"

"Right," Carlos said, "rrright."

Kevin said, "You ought to be enjoying yourself," as he continued walking closer. Even Kevin's tattoos remained oddly still as he continued, "I'd hate for your time here to have gone wasted."

"I'm fine," Carlos said, continuing to back up and half-holding the broom out in front of himself.

Kevin chuckled, "What I mean is, you may as well start getting used to the idea of staying. Why, I can't imagine why anyone would want to leave!" as the insect legs on his back slowly started to unfold as his smile grew impossibly wider.

"Wow, you are creepy," Carlos mumbled, the thought accidentally escaping verbally. "You won't get Diego back until I’m gone."

Kevin grinned, "Who's Diego?" as he gave Carlos an apparent once-over and ran a forked tongue over his lips. His claws appeared to be growing slowly longer as the insect legs started resting against nearby counters and walls as though he might need extra strength to push himself forward at any given moment.

"Your... boyfriend," Carlos said, now preparing to wield the broom as a weapon.

"We don't have boyfriends and girlfriends in the Bluffs, silly," Kevin laughed. "We have pairs. And sometimes they change."

"And sometimes pairs are confused," Carlos said, backing down a hall now.

Kevin chuckled darkly, "Not if both party members are in agreement," before springing forward, his insect legs giving him a little extra shove as he made to tackle Carlos.

Carlos ducked under him, running down the hallway and slamming the door, shouting, "They're not!" as he started to search for a weapon, finding himself in a bedroom.

Kevin skidded to a halt, claws raking the walls as he made a quick u-turn and tested the lock on the door Carlos had gone into. Of course, it was locked, and he scraped his claws against it, saying, "I think we can change that."

"No, no we can't," Carlos said, finding a syringe on the bedside table, oddly labeled ‘Kevin.’

Kevin's tattoos were making scratching sounds against the door as they ran along it, searching for weak points. The tips of his legs split into long, skinny, finger-like appendages that slipped through the cracks on the top, bottom, and sides of the door. They suddenly gripped tight, and Kevin yanked the entire door out of the wall as he asked, "Are you sure?"

Carlos jumped, holding the syringe and saying, "Yes, very sure."

The tattoos set the door aside as Kevin walked into the room, eyes flicking to the syringe curiously as he asked, "Whatcha got there, friend?" and not seeming too fazed by it as he continued to approach, though slower now.

"I have really no idea," Carlos said, holding it somewhat to the side.

Kevin said, "As a scientist, don't you know playing with syringes full of unknown chemicals is dangerous?" the smile still plastered on his face.

"Probably," Carlos said, "but as the other me is a scientist, I'm sure he had a reason."

Kevin said, "Perhaps. Let's find out," before he sprang again, two of his tattoos snatching Carlos' arms to pin them to his sides as Kevin ended up over Carlos, who was being forced to lay back on the bed. Two more of Kevin's tattoos on either side of Carlos were helping prop himself up, his knees on the bed, one between Carlos' legs.

Carlos hit the bed with an "oomph." He then jabbed his knee into Kevin's side, jerking his arm out of his grasp as he did and jabbing the needle into Kevin's arm.

Kevin had been trying to nip at Carlos' jaw and ended up reeling back with a screech, shoving away from Carlos and using mostly his tattoos to keep himself standing as he used his other hand to clutch at the spot where the needle had gone into his arm.

Carlos watched, glad he'd managed to depress the syringe before Kevin had pulled away and backing off further, grabbing a book as a weapon.

Kevin made odd, distressed sounding clicks as he let his tattoos drop him to his knees before the tattoos themselves folded back away, clutching his arm all the while.

"Uh," Carlos said, "are you alright?"

Kevin panted a bit as he felt the tingling in his arm spreading through his body, blinking several times as he recalled what had just occurred and remaining kneeling, saying, "Well, probably better off than I was," slowly, giving more of a half-hearted smile.

"I... guess so?" Carlos said, relaxing minutely as he sounded more normal.

Kevin made a small noise of pain before rolling his shoulders, saying, "Diego was working on a sort of anti-serum to combat the effects of the recalibration. I had told him before he left he could test it on me..."

"Has it been used before?" Carlos asked, setting the book back on the nightstand.

"I think so, but uuh..." he rubbed his neck, "I came to with a bit different of a scene. Sorry about all that, by the way. Recal is an interesting process."

"It was... yeah," Carlos said, "why were you all..."

Kevin said, "It's meant to cloud people's judgment." He lowered his voice and said, "It makes them think living under Strex is the better way of life." He coughed to clear his throat and continued normally, "It's also meant to ah...promote...productivity?"

Carlos raised a brow, saying, "I... right."

Kevin sighed, "I really am sorry. I just hope Diego gets back soon," he said as his insect legs reappeared and wrapped around himself.

Carlos frowned, feeling a bit bad for him and saying "I can make dinner if you want. I can cook."

Kevin looked to him, his sullen expression turning a bit brighter as he chuckled lightly, "Diego can cook, too. You don't have to if you don't want to, though. Unless of course you're implying you're hungry?"

"I assume you have to eat," Carlos said, "Cecil does, about as much as me."

"Technically yes," Kevin said, "but I'm not exactly hungry after that visit to Strex. They um...fed me a bit."

"Right," Carlos frowned, "I’ll make something light then."

"By all means, if you want something, eat however much you want," Kevin said. "I can run to a store for something else if you want it."

"It's fine," Carlos said, "I found pasta before that fuzzy thing bothered me too much."

Kevin said, "Ah, Buster found you?" He paused and asked, "He didn't bite you did he?"

"No, that's why I had the broom," Carlos said. "What would happen if he did?"

Kevin said, "Well, he would have labeled you a foreign substance and would probably have automatically contacted Strex."

"Then it's good I had the broom," Carlos said, walking towards the door, "Come on." Without thinking, he ruffled Kevin's hair as he passed, as it was a habit for him to do that to Cecil.

Kevin bent his head away from Carlos because it had felt odd. He shrugged, standing and excusing it as some sort of symbol of apology on the first plane before following him, thinking to himself that maybe if Diego got trapped, Carlos wouldn't make such a bad replacement.

Carlos started boiling the water for the pasta, making an I’m-watching-you gesture to the fuzz sitting in the corner and asking, "Why does Diego recondition you?"

Kevin said, "You know, I hadn't really thought about it. He may be head of their science division, but I don't think he fully supports all Strex's moral codes." He glanced to Buster, who didn't seem to be paying attention to the conversation. Even so, he lowered his voice and said, "I suppose he prefers the natural me rather than the one Strex wants me to be."

"Well, I guess that's something we have in common," Carlos said.

Kevin sighed, "Yeah, maybe you're not so opposite. But if that's the case, I can't help but wonder why Cecil hates me so much."

"I'll have to ask him when I get back," Carlos said, pouring pasta into the boiling water.

Kevin looked to him, "You have that much faith Diego knows how to switch back?"

"I have to," Carlos said, stirring the pot and frowning at the bubbling water.


	8. A Hard Day's Work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we had some fun writing this chapter, sorry it got a bit long. and seriously, comments are more than welcome. if you have any constructive criticism for us let us know! thanks again for reading <3

Cecil lead the way into Carlos' lab, using Carlos' spare key he had been given for emergencies. Cecil was glad the other workers were out, probably buying condos. "Don't mess anything up," Cecil grumbled, leaning against a fairly empty counter as his tattoos moved slowly across his skin.

"Thanks," Diego mumbled, getting acquainted with the machinery around and starting to tinker, saying, "this is going to take a long while."

Cecil crossed a leg over the other and crossed his arms, asking, "How long? I have my show later. You can bring what parts you might need to my studio, but if you misbehave I might hand you off to Station Management," he smirked as though it meant something rather terrible.

"It might take days," Diego said.

Cecil growled, "If it takes longer than three we're finding another way. There has to be something other than your fancy little Strex machine," he spat the word.

"I'm just telling it the way it is," Diego said, "If you just left me here or something you could also work on a solution."

"I don't trust you to stay where you're meant to," Cecil said. "I prefer to keep an eye on you."

"Then we're going to be here for a while," Diego mumbled.

"I can wait," Cecil said, sitting on the counter. "I'm a patient guy. If you prefer to test that, however, I might not be so willing to wait."

"I'm not trying to," Diego said, "I’m just trying to fix a very complicated machine that you broke."

Cecil threw his hands up, "I didn't know what it did! If I brought out a random machine from my pocket would you honestly trust it?"

"I wouldn't destroy it right away," Diego said, continuing to deconstruct the machine.

"If you had the opportunity to, you might," Cecil grumbled.

"I would make sure of what it did first," Diego grumbled.

Cecil rolled his eyes, staying silent and thinking a moment before sighing, "I suppose arguing over it does us no good now. I'm just upset at suddenly losing Carlos."

"I'm a bit irked I might not be allowed to get home," Diego said, "but there's no point now."

Cecil said, "I wouldn't say not allowed," slowly. "Certainly if you can find a way, I'd want you to take it if it meant getting Carlos back. And don't mention me destroying your little gizmo again; I was jumpy."

"Fine," Diego mumbled, "i'm going to need some coils and copper wire."

Cecil said, "Your guess as to where Carlos keeps his materials is as good as mine. I can look around for some, but no promises."

"I'll look around," Diego sighed.

Cecil hopped off the desk, his tentacles peeling off his skin to open cabinets for him and search around. He picked up a spool that had copper colored thread looking stuff coiled around it, asking, "This what you need?" and using a tentacle to hand it to Diego across the room.

"Yes," Diego said, grabbing wire cutters from the counter.

Cecil thought a moment, saying, "I think my show starts in about an hour. I'll give you a ten minute warning so you can think about what you might need and bring it to my studio."

"Alright," Diego said, "let's hope this works out."

After an hour, Cecil snapped Diego out of his work to gather up some supplies to take to the radio station. Robert, the intern, handed Cecil a cup of coffee and greeted Diego as Carlos. Cecil grudgingly went along with it, not wanting to draw attention to Diego and thanking him for the coffee before sending him off. "You can either work in the broadcasting room with me, or in the room next door. It can lock from the outside," Cecil grinned.

"I'll stay in the broadcasting room," Diego sighed, "my being here might mess up something, i'd want to hear about it."

"You would," Cecil sighed, finding the key to his room before he glanced over when the door down the hall opened where people would come into the broadcasting wing from the main entrance. To his surprise, the two lead angels were there, looking around and acting almost like dogs. This notion was increased when Cecil noted they were on leashes, drifting ahead of none other than Old Woman Josie.

"Hello Cecil, dear," Josie said, "the angels were getting fidgety and I didn't want them running away again."

"Hello, Josie," Cecil said with a grin. "It's good to see you." He had neglected to mention to Diego the fact that when their planes were closer together, the angels appeared visible. The angel on the right, which no eyes, turned to study Diego curiously and gargled something to the other angel, which looked to him as well. Soon enough, they were both tugging on their leashes, wanting to observe him closer. Josie tugged them back gently, as if they were errant puppies sniffing at a squirrel. Diego was staring at them wide-eyed, frozen in alarm.

Cecil asked, "Is there any reason for your coming here? Not that we're not happy to have you," he added as the angel on the right gargled and clicked something irritably, still trying to get at Diego, much to Cecil's amusement.

Diego backed away as Josie said, "the angels were insisting. I don't know what's gotten into them."

The angel on left turned to warble and hiss something to Josie, pointing to Diego.

"What was that, dear?" Josie said, listening to them and saying, "that's Carlos."

The angels shook their heads simultaneously, gargling something else to her as the angel with eyes gave Diego a suspicious look. Cecil frowned, saying, "Uh, Josie, maybe we can have this conversation in my room?"

"Alright," Josie frowned, letting the angels lead her after Diego.

Cecil continued smirking at Diego as the angels reached for him, following him through the door into his studio. Cecil said, "We have about fifteen minutes 'til show."

"Great," Diego mumbled, staying far away from the angels.

The angels kept tugging closer to him, the one with no eyes in particular reaching for him and gargling something. Cecil asked, "Uh, what did the angels tell you?"

"They say it's not Carlos," Josie said, listening to the garbled hissing.

Cecil asked, "Well, can you keep a secret?" quietly as the angels continued pawing at Diego, getting increasingly closer as they continued pulling at their leashes.

Diego backed as Josie said, "Of course dear. Cross my heart and hope to be crushed into a million spiders."

Cecil's eyes widened slightly at the sincerity of the promise, nodding and saying, "I hope you keep your promise then, I'd hate for you to become a million spiders. Anyway, this isn't the real Carlos. He's the Carlos from the seventh plane."

Josie blinked, looking at him with surprise. Diego froze, one of the angels having managed to start pawing at his arm. The angels both gargled words at him, the one with eyes able to touch his arm with the tips of its fingers. Cecil said, "Due to his brilliant planning, he has switched with Carlos. Carlos, dear Carlos, is stuck in Desert Bluffs," he ended as non-hatefully as he could manage.

"Because someone crushed the machine that would have allowed me to go home," Diego said, slowly shifting away from the angel.

The angel made a disgruntled sound, turning and suddenly opening a jaw of razor sharp teeth that had previously looked nonexistent. It grabbed its leash and bit itself free before drifting to stand by Diego, taking one of his hands by the wrist, though not in a hostile way. It simply seemed to be studying him as it gurgled on.

Diego froze again, saying "uh," quietly as Josie whistled at the angel.

The angel made a sad warbling sound, not releasing his arm and turning to look at Josie, clicking in question on whether it could stay to study him. She frowned, sighing, "One at a time."

It clicked happily, drifting quickly to nuzzle her cheek with its forehead before drifting back to pick up Diego’s arm again and traced a finger along it, the veins in his arms suddenly glowing orange. Diego jumped, finding that he was unable to pull away and squeaking. The angel trilled in curiosity, lifting it and looking at his arm from different angels. The other angel gargled something at the one by Diego, and it nodded before slowly lifting a hand and poking Diego's eye for no apparent reason.

Diego flinched, saying, "Agh," putting his free hand over his eye, "can you please do something about this?"

Cecil simply started laughing, saying around the laughs, "Josie, I do have my show in three minutes." The angel by Josie warbled in enjoyment as the one by Diego clicked and rubbed a finger over his eye, which stopped it from hurting. His arm stopped glowing when the angel released him, though it didn't leave his side.

Diego backed up, Josie saying, "Alright, I'll keep them in the other room." She turned to Diego, asking, "How were you meaning to get home?"  
He frowned, pulling the machine out of his bag and saying, "Using-"

The angel closer to Diego chirped in alarm, snatching it away and opening its nonexistent mouth again, wrapping a long tongue beneath it and swallowing the machine whole.

Diego blinked, saying, "I needed that!" in exasperation.

Cecil said, "Ha!" triumphantly. "See? I'm not the only one!" he said with a proud smile. The angel warbled something and looked at Josie.

Josie frowned, warning, "Spit it out, Erika.”

The angel gurgled something quietly, likely an apology, before its mouth opened again and it reached a hand down its own throat, pulling up the machine, which was now coated it a softly glowing slime. It offered it to Diego with a warble and click.

Diego made a face, taking it gingerly and shuddering. Josie glanced to it, saying, "Come on dears, we need to let Cecil give his show."

The angels ruffled their feathers, the angel by Diego putting a hand on his head briefly before turning to follow the other angel out. Cecil was finally catching his breath from laughing again, wiping away a tear of mirth and saying, "Alright, my show lasts around thirty minutes, maybe longer if something comes up."

Josie led them out, Diego saying, "Right," still looking at the machine with disgust, though the saliva appeared to be evaporating without residue.

Cecil sat in his chair, asking, "Are you going to live?" as even with his darker skin tone, Diego looked pale.

"Sure," he mumbled, adding, "if I die, though, Carlos probably will, too."

Cecil froze, frowning and giving him a look, saying, "Don't scare me like that while my show is on," before he put an earpiece in and cleared his throat before he turned on his microphone. Immediately his radio-tone set into place as he said, "Sometimes life is like a puzzle, but it's missing most of its pieces. Welcome to Nightvale."

Diego shrugged, mumbling, "Well, if he dies you'll be able to tell- I’ll probably collapse."

Cecil glared at him, waiting for the introductory music to finish before greeting his listeners and launching into a report about chickens losing their feathers, and how one of them started growing scales. He casually hoped dinosaurs weren't making a return before going into another story.

Diego waited until all of the slobber had dissolved from the machine before starting to work on it again. By the time the show was over he had the base outside done, still needing to rewire all of the circuitry.

"Goodnight, Nightvale, goodnight," Cecil concluded, turning off the microphone and asking, "so, how was Nightvale's radio in comparison to the Bluffs? Or were you not paying attention?"

"I was trying to focus on the machine," Diego mumbled, still very much in the zone.

Cecil recognized the tone, as Carlos used it a lot while experimenting. "Uh huh," Cecil said, standing slowly and shutting up, letting him concentrate, glancing outside to see if the angels were still there.

Josie had ended up reading to them in the hallway, sitting on the little bench and letting them huddle around. A couple of the minor angels had appeared to hear her read, one of each of the larger ones on either side of her and all listening with rapt attention. Cecil grinned, glancing to see Diego still concentrating and opening his door, clicking something quietly to catch the angels' attention. They looked over, Josie stopping in her reading and looking up as well. He clicked something else, roughly translating to 'seventh plane material' as he pointed inside the booth behind him. They stood, gliding over with interest and surrounding Diego, who didn't notice for a long moment until he looked up. He started, yelping and falling out of his chair, as they had been crowding around him rather closely.

Cecil started laughing again, moving into the hallway, as he was fairly certain the angels wouldn't let him get too far. Indeed they didn't, one of the leading angels prodding Diego's stomach with a finger to see what he'd do. Diego batted its hand away, saying "Cecil!" as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

Cecil ignored him as an angel felt the back of his head, relieving the pain instantly once again as a smaller angel gurgled something at Diego and took off his shoe to examine it.

Diego tried in vain to get his shoe back, saying, "Cecil, make them go away."

Cecil called through the door, "My angelese isn't good enough for that, you'll have to ask Josie," as the angel drifted away, suddenly sitting on Cecil's desk and examining the shoe, licking it with the tip of one of its four tongues.

Diego groaned, batting a angel from playing with his hair and resting his head against the leg of the table.

Cecil said, "Don't worry, they're harmless if you don't make them mad." One angel, which had previously gone unnoticed as it was much smaller than the rest but had similar features, drifted out from behind Diego from under the table, looking up at him and taking one of his hands with all four of its own, spreading his fingers to study each one. Diego froze again, finding that he couldn't really pull back due to the angel's unnatural strength.

The smaller angel cooed something in its own language, and strangely, the minor angels started backing away from it. The two leading angels looked to each other, then back to the smallest angel. The smallest angel blinked its one large eye at Diego and released his fingers, but shut its eye and leaned up to nuzzle his hand happily, making a quiet trilling sound.

Diego blinked, asking, "What's going on?"

Cecil leaned his head around the corner, looking amused until he noticed what was holding Diego's hand. Cecil's smile disappeared, and he said, "Uhm...just...I think it wants you to pet it, slowly? If it growls or clicks, just back away and hope it forgives you."

"I thought you said they weren’t dangerous," Diego said, slowly moving his hand.

"They aren't," Cecil said, "except that one. It can be a bit...picky." The tiny angel purred and ruffled its feathers, its two wings suddenly splitting into four wings so Diego could pet between them. Diego glanced to Cecil, making sure he wasn't about to break some kind of rule. Cecil nodded and waved a hand at it somewhat urgently, as though not petting it might set it off. Diego pet it carefully, very concerned at this point and wishing he were at home where things made sense.

It purred softly, making soft gargling sounds once in awhile as the two largest angels stared intently at it. It spread its wings for Diego to have an easier reach, but much like a cat, at some point it decided it no longer wanted to be pet, for its wings snapped shut and it ducked away from him with an angered noise and clicking. Diego jerked his hand back, scooting away from it quickly. The other angels had flinched away as well, their feathers all ruffled in concern as the two larger ones got in front of Diego and very carefully turned the smallest angel around and started herding it towards Josie.

Josie opened her book for it, Diego staying frozen where he was. The tiny angel chirped, spreading its wings and flapping up to land on her book, looking up at her with its one eye wide, much like a puppy begging for attention.

Josie pet its head, starting to read again as Diego said, "What the hell?"

Cecil released a breath, saying, "No one knows. Be glad it spared your skin. We can go back to the lab or my place for you to work." The tiny angel purred, its eye in half-shut content as it held its two pairs of hands together, one hand over the other for both sets.

"Next time you try something like this, try to remember that what happens to me happens to my opposite," Diego said, standing carefully.

Cecil said, "You said you weren't sure on that, and I didn't think they'd harm you," matter-of-factly. "Lab or home?"

"I need to sleep," Diego said, gathering his machine as if angels did not surround him. "And my shoe."

Cecil sighed, "Right," as he turned, gargling something to the angel on his desk with the shoe. It clicked something in response before holding the shoe out for Diego, licking its lips with its four tongues. Diego reclaimed his shoe, putting it back on gingerly and packing his bag.

The angels filed out of the room, surrounding Josie again as she read, the two main angels standing almost protectively on either side of her as they stooped to listen. Cecil said, "Thanks, Josie. Be seeing you," as he led Diego past them.

"Hope everything turns out, dear," Josie said, waving as they left.


	9. Reunion

The sun was rising over Desert Bluffs, and therefore Kevin was rising with it. As soon as the first hint of sun stretched over the horizon, Kevin leaned up in bed with a stretch and yawned extraordinarily widely, stretching his tongue out of his mouth as well and drawing it back in as he grinned to himself at the good night's rest.

Carlos shifted, yawning and blinking as he felt someone next to him, shouting and jerking back when he realized Kevin was sleeping next to him.

Kevin glanced over, saying, "Good morning." He didn't seem to realize what was wrong at first, then it dawned on him and he quickly said, "O-oh, sorry, just...I usually sleep next to Diego and..."

Carlos waited to calm down before saying, "It's alright."

Kevin sighed, "Well, good morning again!" as his smile returned. "What a beautiful day!"

"Right," Carlos said, "I’m still here."

"Indeed you are, so might as well make the best of it," Kevin said. "I don't suppose you're up for asking questions or anything while you're still in town?"

"I kind of want to go home," Carlos said, leaning his head back.

Kevin shrugged, "I'm sorry that you can't, yet. But like I said, might as well do something to waste time while you're here."

"I know," Carlos frowned, "I can’t really think of anything."

Kevin sighed, "I guess I can't blame you. Do tell me if you think of something. I can probably answer most questions."

"What is up with your mouth?" Carlos asked, realizing seconds later he had actually spoken verbally.

Kevin chuckled, grinning widely in spite of himself, "I had never thought about it. It's always been that way. My teeth weren't always this sharp, but they get sharper with age. Maybe I got the trait from one of my parents, but I don't know my parentage."

Carlos frowned, saying, "Ah."

"Is that honestly your only question?" Kevin asked, tilting his head.

"I'm wondering about the tattoos too," Carlos offered.

Kevin held an arm out to study it, shrugging, "I developed those with age too, actually. If Cecil's were anything like how mine developed, they start spreading from the spine at a young age. You get better control over them as you go. Did you want to see one?"

"I guess so," Carlos frowned, still feeling a bit odd being in the same bed as him.

Kevin crossed his human legs as the insect ones sprouted from his back, one of them setting by Carlos. Carlos looked at it, taking it hesitantly in hand and studying the way it moved. Kevin ended up snorting in soft laughter, saying, "Tickles," in explanation as the tip of the leg split into long, even thinner fingers.

Carlos started, mumbling, "Wonder if Cecil is ticklish."

"These sort of imboos tend to be sensitive," Kevin explained. He said, "It's...the slang term for something like them nowadays. It's a mix for imbued tattoo."

"Ah," Carlos said, "sensitive, or ticklish?"

"Both," Kevin said. "They're sensitive, therefore they tickle easily," he added, chuckling again as the leg Carlos touched twitched.

"Right," Carlos said, deciding to test this later on Cecil.

Kevin said, "I'm sure Cecil let you study very extensively how they attach to skin?" he raised a brow with a smirk.

Carlos raised his brows at him, saying, "Not yet, no."

Kevin chuckled, "He'll get around to it eventually, I'm sure. I've been told it's a fascinating thing."

"I'll keep it in mind," Carlos said doubtfully, letting go of Kevin's tattoo.

Kevin pulled it back, tucking the legs away and saying, "So, you want breakfast?"

"I guess so," Carlos sighed, "I can cook."

Kevin said, "I can cook small things, or order something, or maybe have the neighbors come over. They've cooked for me on occasion; they're such helpful people!" he added cheerfully.

"I thinks seeing other people right now might be a bad thing," Carlos said, "I can make eggs."

"I'll make toast," Kevin offered, moving to stand up. "Do you drink coffee?"

"Yes," Carlos said, standing and stretching.

When they got to the kitchen, Kevin whistled, and Buster scuttled out of a room over to him. He opened his mouth expectantly while Kevin grabbed what looked almost like an oil can and opened it, pouring the contents into Buster's mouth. Carlos watched, a bit curious but still alarmed by the creature. Buster made a sort of whirring purr before nuzzling Kevin's leg, giving Carlos a look, and skirting around the scientist to sit on a pillow bed in the living room. Kevin said, "Strexpets need breakfast too," as he threw the can in what could've been a recycling bin.

"Right," Carlos said, pulling eggs out of the fridge.

Kevin grabbed the bread out of a cabinet, saying, "I assume you don't prefer blooder? Blood butter," he explained.

"No," Carlos said, "no. No blood."

"Right," Kevin said, "we should have normal butter," he stuck his tongue out slightly as though the thought was grossing him out. "We also have peanut butter and some jellies. Jellyfish jelly is good."

"That's not..." Carlos frowned, "never mind. I'll just have... these are chicken eggs, right?"

"If they don't have purple specks, they're fine," Kevin said, still burrowing around the cabinets.

Carlos decided not to ask what it meant if they had purple specks, instead simply cracking a few into a bowl.

When breakfast was made, Kevin's tattoos jumping when the toaster popped, they sat down across from each other and began to eat. Kevin had added some form of sugar to his coffee, or at least it could presumably be sugar. Carlos, in spite of normally drinking sweetened and creamed coffee, was drinking his morning cup black. He picked at the eggs, making sure Kevin got enough food.

Kevin ordinarily would have eaten plenty, but he was still nervous about how long it was taking Diego, and the fear of having Carlos as a permanent pair was somewhat unsettling. He was sure it must be worse for Carlos, but tried to keep an upbeat attitude all the same.

Carlos sighed, after breakfast saying, "I'll help clean th-" before he felt the strange tugging sensation, being pulled backwards out of Desert Bluffs and into the first plane.

~~~~~~~~~

Cecil blinked, not having expected anything to happen and was thus taken aback by the sudden black window that opened up and seemed to swallow Diego before it spat someone else back out. Someone else in a lab coat. Cecil asked, "Diego?" somewhat doubtfully, thinking maybe Diego's rift-machine had malfunctioned.

Carlos blinked, saying, "Dishes?" and looking around.

Cecil blinked again, brightening up as his previous tired mood was wiped away, saying, "Carlos?!" in a much happier tone.

Carlos took in his surroundings, realizing he was indeed in night vale and grinning, saying, "Cecil?"

"Carlos!" Cecil cheered, flinging himself forward and kissing him, shortly before kissing every inch of skin he could reach, his tentacles being none-too-shy as they joined the embrace. Cecil nuzzled happily into Carlos' neck, purring loudly as his tentacles held on a smidgen too tightly.

"Woah, woah," Carlos said, hugging him back, "calm down, it's ok."

"I was doubting I'd ever seen you again," Cecil said, continuing to nuzzle the crook of his neck and the purr endless.

"Well," Carlos sighed, "me too." He smiled, rubbing Cecil's back.

Cecil grinned, his tentacles arching in place of his back, but none of them releasing Carlos as Cecil's voice cracked, "It's just felt like so long," before he finally thought to draw back to look at Carlos' eyes.

"It felt like a long time," Carlos agreed, "but it was only about twenty four hours."

Cecil's smile disappeared, giving Carlos a confused look and saying, "Carlos," slowly, "you've been gone five days."

Carlos frowned at that, saying "It was definitely not more than a day."

"I know time doesn't exist, but I counted the nights," Cecil said, the tendrils curling a bit tighter around him.

"So did I," Carlos said, "I only slept once."

Cecil coughed slightly, saying, "Well, so did I, but I still counted the nights."

"Ok, I meant, there was only one night," Carlos said.

"Maybe on the seventh plane there was," Cecil huffed. "Here, it was five sunrises. I slept once; I couldn't make myself sleep more than that, I was so fraught with worry."

"I know," Carlos frowned, kissing his cheek, "Come on, I’ll make something to eat."

Cecil shook his head, "No, we've got other things to catch up on," before putting a hand on Carlos' jaw and kissing him again, as the first one was rather short.

Carlos moved a hand to the back of Cecil's neck, after a moment mumbling "like sleep?"

"I can't sleep now for different reasons," Cecil mumbled back between kissing.

"You need to sleep soon," Carlos sighed, eventually simply picking Cecil up and moving him towards his room.

Cecil made a surprised yelp when Carlos picked him up. His tentacles curled behind Carlos to grip better, grumbling, "This isn't fair. I have five days of looking at you to make up."

"And I’m moving to a better location than the front hallway," Carlos grinned, kissing his cheek.

Cecil glanced behind him, sighing, "Fair enough," before one of the tendrils curled behind Carlos dipped a bit lower down his back than strictly necessary.

Carlos raised a brow at him, setting him down on the bed when he got to the bedroom.

Cecil sat, saying, "I won't sleep if you're going to leave," as he crossed his arms stubbornly.

"I'm not," Carlos said, sitting next to him, "shockingly, waking up next to Kevin gives you a bad start to the morning and I’m still tired."

Cecil's entire body cringed and he looked to be in severe pain as he said, "Never ever give me that mental image again," before he turned, the tentacles grabbing Carlos possessively and tugging him into another kiss.

"Oh," Carlos mumbled, "sorry. No he didn't... no."

"I didn't think he did," Cecil growled, "and if he did, I'd leave to kill him right now."

"Calm down," Carlos said, "he tried to be friendly most of the time."

Cecil gave him a skeptical look, saying, "Maybe this should wait for when I'm not tired and irritable," before his tentacles were curling around Carlos again as he leaned them both back, one of the tendrils curling contently into Carlos' hair, another rubbing the scruff he had grown.

"Good idea," Carlos said, "I’m glad to be home."

Cecil grinned, "Glad to have you back," as another tendril moved towards Carlos' ass again. Cecil forced it back, letting it curl around his ankle instead. He sighed, "They'll be clingy for awhile. So will I," he warned with a smirk.

"I've noticed," Carlos snorted, rubbing his back in slow circles.

Cecil purred again, one of his larger tendrils curling around Carlos' side as he drew them closer together, Cecil cuddling his head by Carlos' chest. "I missed you," Cecil cooed, another tendril still feeling Carlos' thin layer of scruff.

"I missed you too," Carlos chuckled, "I didn't like Desert Bluffs very much."

Cecil hummed, "I can't blame you. It's a strange place."

"It is," Carlos agreed, "Kevin was a bit creepy."

Cecil snorted, "That's an understatement," before he yawned, kissing Carlos' collarbone.

"Well," Carlos sighed, "he tried to be friendly."

"People from the Bluffs don't know the meaning of friendly," Cecil grumbled. "Save it for tomorrow. I'd better text Station Management I might take a sick day."

"I'll text them," Carlos said, "you go to sleep." Cecil groaned something, not wanting to sleep but wanting to enjoy the cuddling while he was conscious. His tentacles added to his point by wrapping tighter around Carlos. "Where's your phone?" Carlos sighed, petting some of his tentacles. One of said tentacles slithered over Cecil to the bedside table, picking up the phone and setting it by Carlos as Cecil purred quietly. Carlos typed out a text, sending and settling down again.

"Thanks," Cecil mumbled into his shoulder, the tendrils still doing his job of nuzzling and curling around every limb they could find, the lucky one still curled in Carlos' hair.

Carlos chuckled, mumbling, "No problem," and tucking the blanket over Cecil.

"G'mornin'," Cecil smirked into his shoulder, shortly drifting off into a deep sleep.


	10. The Morning After

Cecil's tentacles loosened up only when he fell asleep, but stayed draped over Carlos. Carlos chuckled, kissing Cecil's cheek before sitting up, carefully detangling himself. Cecil didn't even budge, the tentacles being a little more resilient and sticking to Carlos as he moved. He eventually struggled free, settling Cecil comfortably and tucking the blanket around him. He then took a shower, shaving off the stubble that had been bothering him before dressing and starting to tidy the house that clearly had not been kept up since his absence.

Cecil barely stirred in his sleep, not even dreaming as he was indeed extremely tired from missing out on sleep making sure Diego didn't get into trouble. He'd never admit it to Carlos, but Diego had ended up growing on him, and by the time he had left, Cecil considered them on decent terms.

Carlos had cleaned the dishes, fed a very satisfied Khoshekh, and was vacuuming around the rugs, strange furniture, and bloodstones.

Cecil ended up waking several hours later, stirring as his tentacles immediately started trying to find Carlos. He stopped them when he remembered Diego being a bit more pointedly annoyed by them, and drew them back into tattoos as he yawned, asking, "Carlos?" with his voice a bit hoarse.

Carlos didn't hear him calling until he turned off the vacuum, calling, "Yeah?"

Cecil whined, "You leeefffttt," sadly, staying lying in bed, as he was still tired.

"I had to get stuff done," Carlos said, walking into the room and dusting his hands off.

Cecil started asking, "What kind of-" before he looked over, shrieking quietly when he noticed Carlos had shaved. "What did you do?" he squeaked.

"Uh," Carlos blinked, "I showered, fed the cat, tidied a bit...?"

"Nooo, your scruff's gone," Cecil whined, thunking backwards onto his pillow in disappointment.

"Yeah, I didn't mean to have it," Carlos said, "I shaved?"

"Why would you shave it off?" Cecil asked. "It was cute looking."

"Oh," Carlos said, "well maybe I’ll wait a little before shaving next time."

Cecil smiled, making a happy squeal and sitting up, about to move a tentacle to bring Carlos over when he recalled again Diego's reaction and instead said, "C'mere." Carlos chuckled, sitting on the edge of the bed and leaning against the headboard. Cecil scooted over to him, wrapping his arms around Carlos to hook on his other side while Cecil kissed his jaw, mumbling, "I miss the stubble," grumpily.

Carlos chuckled, "I don't."

Cecil growled half-heartedly, his tattoos actually managing to stay on his skin, though they still wiggled a bit. "Promise not to shave for a while; if you had a beard, it'd be perfect."

"Fine," Carlos sighed, "your tentacles did like the stubble."

"I know," Cecil said, though they didn't manifest. He nuzzled Carlos' cheek and kissed it a moment later, keeping his arms around him.

"You still tired?" Carlos asked, rubbing his back.

"Sort've," Cecil said, "though less so now." A tentacle seemed to want to peel away to curl around Carlos' arm, but instead only curled around his finger a moment before being tucked back. "Why do you ask?"

"You're acting a bit funny," Carlos said. “Do your tentacles get tired too?"

Cecil frowned, saying, "No, not really...they stay about as active as I am."

"Oh," Carlos said, "why are they so shy all of a sudden?"

"Erm..." Cecil said, twiddling his thumbs awkwardly around Carlos' side, "Diego...hasn't really enjoyed them during his stay here. I was afraid you secretly felt the same."

Carlos frowned, "He told you he didn't like them?"

"Not exactly directly," Cecil said with a half-shrug. "He just...made it clear they bothered him."

Carlos frowned, saying, "Well, Kevin has these insect leg things instead of tentacles."

"I know, I've seen them," Cecil shuddered. "Doesn't surprise me in a place like the Bluffs something like insect legs would be acceptable but tentacles are weird..." he grumbled, setting his chin on Carlos' shoulder.

"Well, I thought they were kind of creepy," Carlos said, "I like your tentacles, they're cute."

Cecil looked up at him, brightening up a little and asking, "You mean it?"

"'Course I do," Carlos said, "I like them."

"Thank the Void," Cecil sighed, the tentacles immediately manifesting and curling around him, one rifling through his hair. "They make it easier to show affection, too," Cecil grinned.

"I've noticed," Carlos chuckled, kissing his cheek, "I was a bit worried when you weren't using them."

"Well, I was embarrassed that you might not've liked them and I had been using them so long and..." he rambled, mumbling the rest into Carlos' shoulder as he hid his face against it.

Carlos sighed, rubbing his back to calm him down and saying, "Really, don't worry. I like them."

"If you insist," Cecil grinned somewhat evilly as more of them manifested to curl around Carlos' side for him, unlatching his hands to put one on Carlos' jaw to turn his head and kiss him. Carlos chuckled, kissing him and running a hand through Cecil's hair. Cecil began purring softly, moving so his hand was on Carlos' chest as one of the tentacles moved to wrap behind Carlos' lower back, riding a little below his pants line before Cecil could glare at it.

Carlos chuckled, mumbling, "Sometimes I doubt how much control you have over these."

Cecil blushed, the first time since Carlos had left, and said, "Sometimes I wonder, too," as he forced it to move up but shortly re-attacked Carlos' mouth with his own. Carlos grinned, wrapping his arms around him and leaning back. Cecil leaned with him, keeping a hand on Carlos' chest and the other to his side to prop himself up, pulling back when he recalled Diego coming on to him when he had first gotten there and frowning, trying not to compare Carlos to Diego and failing.

Carlos frowned, asking, "What's wrong?"

Cecil cleared his throat quietly, saying, "Er...one of the first things Diego did when he got here was uh...sort of come on to me. Nothing actually happened," he added quickly, "but...he was experimenting I guess and..." Carlos blinked, his expression turning into a frown. Cecil groaned, "I know, it's stupid, but it's got me somewhat concerned."

"Concerned?" Carlos asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Well...like with the tentacles," Cecil admitted. "I don't want you to be using me as an experiment."

Carlos took a deep breath, resolving to punch his opposite at the next chance. "You're not an experiment, Cecil." Cecil frowned, giving him a worried look and still feeling uncertain as his tentacles shifted their holds on Carlos slowly. "You're never going to be an experiment," Carlos said, "I love you. And I'm definitely going to have words with Diego if I ever see him."

Cecil grinned at that, saying, "I hope Kevin stayed far away from you in that respect," before immediately moving back in to the kiss where they had left off. Carlos relaxed again, tangling a hand in Cecil's hair and smiling.

Cecil allowed himself to close the distance between his and Carlos' stomachs, figuring what the hell, they hadn't seen each other in almost a week from his perspective. The hand on Carlos' chest trailed down it to rest on his side as the tentacles caressed every available spot of Carlos' skin they could find.

~~~~~~~~

Diego blinked, suddenly in his own living room and still holding onto the button he'd pressed.

Kevin looked at him, blinking and asking, "Carlos, did you just...blip? I don't know if that's a common thing in Nightvale but maybe you should get it checked out by a doctor..."

"Not Carlos," Diego grinned, setting his machine down.

Kevin blinked again, yipping, "Diego!" and jumping forward, his insect legs sprouting out to wrap behind him in a hug, cuddling his head under Diego's chin.

Diego grinned, wrapping his arms around him and laughing "hey, Kevin."

"What happened, how'd you...never mind, I don't care, probably some sciency thing I wouldn't get," Kevin said, giving Diego a squeeze and turning his head up to kiss his cheek.

Diego chuckled, lifting Kevin's chin to kiss him and saying, "Missed you."

Kevin flashed a wide, sharp-tooth smile, saying, "Desert Bluffs has been less sunny without you!"

"And Cecil wasn't nearly as good as you," Diego sighed, rubbing up and down Kevin's back.

Kevin chuckled, clicking happily in his way of purring, saying, "Cecil doesn't have my smile," and nipping his jaw, leaving faint scratches.

"No one has your smile," Diego grinned, kissing his cheek.

Kevin blushed at that, more a shade of dark orange, and said, "I know, it's certainly different," as it widened again, he licking his lip subconsciously.

"I like different," Diego chuckled.

"I'm glad," Kevin smiled, leaning up to kiss him again as his insect legs tightened around Diego's back.

Diego chuckled again, running a hand down one of the insect legs and saying, "Oh, aren’t you due for a recal soon?"

Kevin's chuckle at the ticklish leg died away when he said, "Oh, uh...they actually did that yesterday. Carlos found your antidote, though. Worked wonders."

"Ah," Diego sighed, "glad he thought of it."

Kevin rubbed his neck, "Yeah, that was an awkward moment for everyone. We're lucky they bought Carlos' act; they thought he was you the whole time," as Buster came scuttling into the room to sniff at Diego.

"That's good too," Diego said, "come on. Are you hungry?"

"We just ate, actually," Kevin said. "Carlos can cook too, but not as well as you can. I guess I didn't eat as much as I could have, either."

"I'm a bit hungry, to be honest," Diego said, running his hand down Kevin's tattoo.

"We can eat, if you want," Kevin said, clicking quietly as the other tattoos crumpled in a bit.

"I'll make a snack or something," Diego said.

Kevin nodded, "Alright, whatever you want. It was a lonely night."

Diego sighed, "It was a lonely five nights."

Kevin blinked, tilting his head and saying, "But...you were gone one night?"

"I was gone for at least five," Diego frowned.

Kevin shook his head, "Here, it was only one. I'm sure of it. I would have remembered every sunrise."

"It was definitely at least five night vale nights," Diego said, "Cecil kept me awake puttering around."

Kevin frowned, "Oh dear. If you need to sleep, you can go ahead after second breakfast."

"I got enough rest," Diego said, "but I'm glad I didn't miss any work."

Kevin nodded, "I don't know what they would've done without you. Oh! Speaking of work, my show is in about half an hour," he added, checking a watch.

"Right," Diego said, "maybe... I could nap while you're away, and we could listen to the broadcast when you get home."

Kevin nodded, "Sure, if you want to. You could even leave the radio on here and fall asleep to it," he added before he could stop himself, as that seemed to be more of a Nightvale thing.

"I could do that too," Diego chuckled, "maybe both."

Kevin grinned sheepishly, a mix of a normal-sized smile and his wide one. He tucked his arms around Diego's neck, nuzzling his cheek and saying, "Glad you're back," as he started clicking again.

"I'm glad i'm back too," Diego said, "but I did learn some interesting things while I was there."

"I'm sure you did, but that story will have to wait for after work," Kevin said. Buster warbled up at them, Kevin glancing to him and sighing, "Oh, Buster wanted to try to take a sample on Carlos, but Carlos wouldn't let him and he's been upset."

"Ah," Diego sighed, leaning down for him. Buster nuzzled his hand affectionately before opening his mouth and biting his arm, taking a quick sample and making a buzzing noise before he made a happy face and scuttled off to sit on his pillow. Diego chuckled, straightening again and yawning.

Kevin asked, "So, what's for breakfast?" as his insect legs only folded part way back, staying out but folded out of the way.

"I don't know, what do we have?" Diego asked, guiding him into the kitchen with a hand on the small of his back.

Kevin hummed in thought, "Carlos and I had eggs and toast, but he didn't even use blooder. We probably have pancake and waffle mix, and maybe some bacon."

"I could go for pancakes," Diego said, "and then maybe a nap. I'll cook quickly."

Kevin nodded, "If you want to. I'll be home after work as soon as I can."

"Alright," Diego said, "I’ll save some pancakes for you."

"Thanks," Kevin grinned, stealing a slice of bacon out of the package and eating it raw. He gave Diego a hug and another kiss before saying, "I'll be on the air in...fifteen minutes."

"Hear you then," Diego chuckled, starting to pull out pancake mix and blooder.

Kevin smiled, waving as he left the house, driving to work. His voice crackled onto the radio exactly fifteen minutes later at precisely six in the morning. "Good morning Desert Bluffs, and what a beautiful morning it is," Kevin said in his patented radio tone.

Diego chuckled again, listening to the broadcast and cooking as he did. Kevin resisted the urge to talk about how Diego 'came back from a trip' and instead just added comments between stories about how he was simply happy to be seeing Diego, and though they had spent the night together, it almost seemed like they had been apart. He shrugged it off as a funny occurrence, talking about garage sale day coming up, and if you had a garage to sell, to contact Strexcorp immediately.

Diego finished cooking and was sliding pancakes and bacon onto plates as an early lunch by the time the broadcast was over. "Until next time, Desert Bluffs. Until next time," Kevin's voice faded as the broadcast finished, signaling he'd be home soon.

Diego poured drinks, turning his radio way down to almost nothing (it was illegal to turn it all the way off during Strexcorp's Community Encouragement Broadcast.)

Kevin walked in the door around ten minutes later, saying, "I came as soon as I could without breaking speed limit," in a hurry, tossing his keys onto a small table by the door and walking to the kitchen. "Smells delicious," he grinned widely after taking a breath.

"It's fine," Diego chuckled, in the process of setting the last of the silverware on the table.

"Looks delicious, too," Kevin said as he sat down, Buster scuttling into the room to beg for scraps. Diego dropped a bit of bacon for him, sitting at the table with Kevin. Buster made a happy whirring sound as he chomped on the bacon, Kevin serving himself a waffle, bacon, and hash browns. He licked his lips in anticipation, his long tongue able to stretch to the very corners of his wide mouth.

Diego sipped his juice, starting on a pancake and letting a few scraps fall for the fluff ball below them. Buster scrambled between them to lick the crumbs off the floor and catch the scraps that were thrown at him. 

Kevin asked, "So, what'd you learn in Nightvale? I should hope it wasn't fruitless."

"It wasn’t," Diego, "there are a lot of odd things there... but a lot of interesting things, too."

Kevin said, "Oh? Like what?" as he took a bite of waffle.

Diego smirked, saying, "Angels."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> naughty lil buggers thought we were gonna go into detail with Cecil and Carlos eh? like i said in the tags, maybe eventually, if my co-author is ever ok with publishing it. i'll work on her. on another note, if you're curious about the odd publishing times, i think i've already mentioned that we pre-write a lot of this and get ahead of ourselves before i actually have time to publish it, and sometimes i split chapters up rather than give you one giant chapter like when we wrote it, sooo yeah. sorry if that's bothering you


	11. Disappearance

Carlos woke up with a whole lot of limbs wrapped around him. He yawned, brushing the tuft of hair out of his face and sighing.

Cecil smiled, still half asleep but his eyes open and he said, "That was cute," in a tired morning voice and nuzzled Carlos' nose with his own.

"I don't understand how..." Carlos mumbled, brushing the rest of his hair out of his face and yawning again.

Cecil squealed again, saying, "You're just so perfect," in a giddy tone and cuddling into Carlos' bare chest.

"You're insane," he sighed, rubbing Cecil's back around the tentacles.

"I know," Cecil smiled, the tentacles quivering and rubbing Carlos' skin again. "But then, so are you for dating a multi-planar being."

"I'd be insane not to," he yawned, nuzzling Cecil’s hair.

Cecil chuckled, "Sure, if you want to look at it that way. Did I mention you're never allowed to go into a station bathroom again, by the way?"

"Ceeeciiilll," Carlos groaned, running a hand through his hair.

"Never again," Cecil stated firmly, his tentacles clinging to the scientist as he added, "unless I'm with you."

"It's not like it could happen a second time there," Carlos complained.

"It totally could," Cecil huffed, turning his head to look at Carlos. "What do you know about where rifts between planes open?"

"I know my proximity to a bathroom is not a deciding factor," Carlos said.

"It might be, though!" Cecil frowned, the tentacles rubbing Carlos' back.

Carlos sighed, "I highly doubt it."

"You can highly doubt all you want, you're still not allowed," Cecil grumped.

"I doubt you could stop me," Carlos said, ruffling Cecil's hair.

Cecil frowned, saying, "I could try," as a tentacle curled around Carlos' hand automatically, as Cecil had meant to have it pull the hand away but it ended up using it as a perch.

"You really want to have a fight in front of the bathroom?" Carlos chuckled.

"If it stops other seventh-plane beings from coming here and pretending to be you, then yes," Cecil said.

Carlos sighed heavily, "We'll see."

Cecil grinned at least in temporary triumph, saying, "Alright, fine," and retracting some tentacles. "We should probably spend today trying to figure out how to move our plane as far from the seventh as possible."

"It was just creepy, not super-bad," Carlos said.

Cecil frowned, "No Carlos, that's not the issue. I mean it sort've is, but hear me out. It's dangerous to have two planes too close together, especially some as opposite as ours."

"What's wrong with it?" Carlos asked, starting to sit up.

Cecil sat up with him, leaving a tentacle on Carlos' lower back and saying, "If more pieces of them start to mesh and we do nothing to stop it, soon enough it might very well be that both our planes will simply collide and mix."

"I'd imagine if that happens we'd end up with our opposites and us in the same plane," Carlos said.

Cecil nodded grimly, "More or less, yeah. And I don't know about you, but I refuse to live on the same plane as Kevin," he growled the name.

"Well...." Carlos sighed, "yeah."

Cecil nodded, "So, our best bet is to start by talking to Josie. Her winged companions, who I've been having second thoughts on whether or not are actually angels, are multi-planar beings that can travel back and forth at will through them."

"Can they?" Carlos said. "Maybe we could talk to them, yeah."

Cecil said, "Then let's get a light breakfast and I'll call her when we're leaving."

"Alright," Carlos said, "do you have work?"

Cecil nodded, "Yes, but not until later. I may have texted my intern last night who talked to Station Management for me, poor guy, and they gave me the morning show off. I'll check in for the night show."

"Alright," Carlos said, "good. I'll have to get dressed eventually."

Cecil said, "I know, it's unfortunate..." before he could help himself.

Carlos raised a brow, saying, "Well, I can't exactly walk around naked, can I?"

Cecil blushed purple, mumbling, "I wouldn't mind," under his breath. He cleared his throat and quickly amended, "But I suppose you're right. The general public might be a little less appreciative of it than me."

"I have a feeling it might be," Carlos sighed, stretching and shifting to get out of the bed.

Cecil sighed forlornly, leaving the bed as well and using tentacles to pick up his clothes and put them in the hamper. Other of his tattoos slithered through the drawers of his dresser and through the door of his closet to pull out a new outfit for the day, and as it happened, they selected a bit more of a feminine outfit. Cecil hardly blinked as they dressed him in form-fitting khakis, a tank top, a summery purple jacket, three dangling necklaces, and even went so far as to put in dangling earrings to match the necklace. He walked towards the bathroom, where two more tentacles opened a drawer and started rifling through makeup.

Carlos had managed to pull on jeans and a t-shirt, glancing over to Cecil and doing a bit of a double take before asking, "We going somewhere else special today?"

Cecil paused, saying, "No, I don't think we had anything planned," before he was forced to hold his head still so the tattoos could swipe some dark purple eye shadow and a brighter purple eyeliner on.

Carlos watched out of the corner of his eye, saying ,"Ok," after a moment and going back to brushing his flop of hair.

Cecil brushed his own hair, giving it the signature wave on the right half of his head and grinning, brushing his teeth next as a tentacle held out lipstick as if in question. Cecil paused in thought, shrugging and letting the tattoo wipe the makeup over his lips.

Carlos simply brushed his teeth, grabbing a clean lab coat from hanging behind the bathroom door and stretching again, asking, "Coffee?"

Cecil smacked his lips a few times to even the coat and said, "Sure, sounds nice." He slipped a few bracelets on for kicks and asked, "How do I look? Do you think I need nail polish?" as he studied his hands and bare feet.

Carlos looked him over, saying, "Good. You look good. I don't know, maybe nail polish."

Cecil rubbed his chin in thought, saying, "I think nail polish would do well. Thanks," he bounced over to kiss Carlos' cheek and walked back to the bathroom to rifle through the various shades of polish he had, thinking of making a shiny gradient or maybe using the one with sparkles and making one nail on each hand orange. Carlos chuckled, remembering to wipe the purple smudge from his face and going to start the coffee.

Cecil came out of his room with each of his nails coated in a dark purple fading to light purple polish, all except his ring fingers and corresponding toes, which were coated with orange polish that had specks of silver glitter stuck in them. He walked to the kitchen, petting Khoshekh when the cat trotted over to greet him and saying, "So, after breakfast, I'll make the call to Josie."

"Sure," Carlos said, "do you want eggs and bacon, māśūqa?"

Cecil jittered and grinned with the use of foreign and said, "Sure, sounds wonderful," and ended it with a word that couldn't be any language from the planet.

Carlos chuckled, strangely unbothered by the inhuman near-screech and instead simply setting Khoshekh's breakfast on the ground.

Khoshekh purred while he ate, tail flicking happily as Cecil asked, "Need help with cooking?"

"No," Carlos said, "you can if you want to but it's not necessary."

"I'll set the table then," Cecil said, grabbing the dishes and setting them out, even placing a small vial of water with a blue flower in it between them.

Carlos made a quick scramble of eggs, setting the bacon in the other pan and very glad that he was cooking it in this plane.

Cecil started humming to himself out of boredom and made some shadows appear to be moving, as well as the flower in the vase. In fact, the flower in the vase almost seemed to be dancing to whatever Cecil was humming. Carlos glanced over, smiling and letting the bacon sizzle as he popped toast into the toaster and pulled the eggs off the heat. Cecil held a finger over the flower, and it stretched a leaf up to 'hold' it and twirled itself as Cecil grinned. The tattoos on his skin swam along with the melody, the whole house seeming in a chipper mood for it.

Carlos asked, "Do you always make plants dance?" as he flipped the bacon.

Cecil abruptly stopped humming, saying, "Well, sometimes it's fun. They're lively little things."

"It was cute," Carlos chuckled, setting the eggs and toast on the table and waiting to collect the bacon.

"You think so?" Cecil grinned. "You should hear the little fellas sing."

"They can sing?" Carlos asked, sliding the bacon onto a plate.

Cecil said, "I mentioned it before, back when I was talking to you about telling my listeners about photo...syn...sis?" he tried.

"Photosynthesis?" Carlos said, "plants don't sing when they grow, do they?”

"Sure they do," Cecil said. "A lot of them are just shy. Haven't you ever been in a forest or a field and could swear you heard something like a whisper or a distant song?"

"Uh," Carlos considered, "maybe, i guess so."

Cecil said, "If you have, that's probably them. They like singing to one another, but people don't usually have the time to appreciate it. Even this little guy might sing if he had someone to do it with him," as he rubbed the underside of one of the flower's leaves.

Carlos grinned again, kissing Cecil's cheek and setting their cups at the table. Cecil subconsciously batted his mascara-covered eyelashes sideways at Carlos before standing straight and shifting around the table to sit.

Carlos handed him the jam, asking, "Did anything really big happen while I was away?"

Cecil rubbed his neck, saying, "Hm, not really. The so-called angels came out again, and they seemed a bit restless. Erika, one of the main ones, ended up talking to Tamika Flynn, if I remember rightly, and I think the other main winged creature, also named Erika, was growling at the Man in the Tan Jacket."

"Ah," Carlos said, "I wonder what the a- winged... creatures think of what's going on."

Cecil said, "Hopefully we'll find that out when we talk to Josie today."

"I won't be able to talk to the angels, I suppose," Carlos said, piling eggs and bacon onto his plate

Cecil said, "They'll understand you, but you'll have to let Josie or the smallest one translate. Last I checked it's the only one to speak English. It has a strange voice, though..."

"Odd," Carlos said, "I wonder if they have opposites, too."

Cecil's eyes widened as he said, "I hope not," in a low, fearful tone, glancing about as though an anti-angel might appear any moment.

"I wonder what that would look like," Carlos mused, adding bacon and eggs to Cecil's plate.

Cecil said, "I shudder to think," before starting on his breakfast.

"It would be interesting to study," Carlos said, nibbling toast.

"For you, maybe so," Cecil said, giving him a look, "but don't even think about changing planes to do it."

"Of course not," Carlos said, tapping Cecil’s foot with his under the table.

"Good," Cecil nodded curtly, a tattoo slowly curling off his leg to hold Carlos' ankle and slide beneath the hem of the pants leg.

Carlos chuckled, "That's cheating."

Cecil said, "I don't know what you're talking about," blank-faced, taking a bite of eggs.

"I'm sure you don't," Carlos said, looking Cecil in the eyes before licking a piece of bacon and eating it slowly.

Cecil's brow raised up, the tentacle snaking further up his leg as Cecil said, "Are we really starting this at the breakfast table?" innocently, fluttering his lashes and taking a sip of juice, purposefully making sure to leave a purple lip stain on the rim and licking his lips.

"You started it," Carlos said, eating another piece of bacon.

"My tattoo started it," Cecil corrected. "I told you I can't help them sometimes."

"You weren't exactly bothered by it," Carlos said, sipping the coffee he'd brought.

Cecil said, "And sometimes I have a little control over them," with a coy smile as he took a slice of bacon to eat.

"I had no idea," Carlos said wryly, eating some of his eggs and letting toast bits fall for Khoshekh.

Khoshekh purred more as he licked up the crumbs, Cecil giving him bits of egg and saying, "You know Khoshekh, you need to watch your diet or you'll start gaining weight," before tapping the cat playfully on the nose. Khoshekh meowed innocently, his whiskers twitching up as he begged for more.

"That cat's already getting chubby," Carlos chuckled, letting some bacon fall.

Cecil glanced to the bacon Khoshekh happily licked up and said, "Because you're doing so much to help him," with a small smile as the cat rubbed against Carlos' other leg in thanks.

"He needs to keep his energy up," Carlos grinned, leaning over to rub the cat's head.

Cecil sighed, "I hope you took an allergy pill," as the cat started licking Carlos' hand, ear twitching in content.

"I did," Carlos said defensively, "and my anti-throat spiders pill."

"Good, I'd rather have you taking the pills than changing your vocal cords again. It's hard to get used to," Cecil admitted.

"I'd agree," Carlos sighed, booping Khoshekh’s nose and returning to his food.

When breakfast was cleaned up, none too few touches between Cecil and Carlos occurring in doing so, Cecil took his cell phone out to call Josie and see if she was busy.

Josie picked up the phone on the first ring, saying, "Cecil, dear, do you know where he is?"

Cecil blinked in confusion, asking, "Where who is, Josie?" and putting it on speaker.

"My little boy just disappeared," Josie said, "Erika, he's missing and everyone else is very worried."

Cecil's eyes narrowed, asking, "You mean the smallest...?" as he started to pick up on distressed calls in the background.

"Erika, yes," Josie said, "he's just disappeared."

There was a closer, more upset sound from one of the angels that apparently got a bit closer to Josie, making clicks and whistles and whines. Cecil said, "We're on our way. Where are you?"

"We're out by the whispering forest, dear," Josie said, "please hurry."

"We will," Cecil said, sharing a look with Carlos as he frowned at the angel's calls in the backdrop, one in particular a loud moaning screech that tore at his heart.

Carlos frowned, saying, "We'll be right there," and hearing the phone hang up. He turned back to Cecil, saying, "I'll drive."


	12. Captured

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there was something i meant to say next time I published a chapter, now i have no idea what it was. hm. im gonna blame strex

The small angel tapped gently against the glass of its enclosure, making a muffled high pitched noise of curiosity somewhat like a cat. Kevin stood behind Diego, asking for the hundredth time, "But are you sure it's safe?"

"Of course," Diego said, patting his back, "It's fine. It's just curious."

The angel warbled, cooing at the glass and tilting its head at them, blinking its eye slowly. Kevin made a small whimper of fear and said, "I don't think it's curious about the glass..."

"It's interested with everything on this plane," Diego said, "relax."

A quiet mewling sound came from inside the cage, the angel giving them what could only be considered a puppy dog eye. Kevin frowned, saying, "It's creeping me out." The angel's feathers ruffled, having two sets of wings again, one curled around its front and the other two dragging on the floor behind it.

"I'll protect you," Diego snorted, watching the angel and the team of lab members running around testing data.

Kevin looked around, saying, "Why is no one else scared of this thing?" quietly.

"Because they're scientists," Diego said, setting a hand on Kevin's shoulder.

Kevin grew out his insect legs to wrap around Diego, asking, "But...even scientists have to be scared of some things?"

"Of course," Diego said, "but they know their jobs."

Kevin mumbled, "I guess so," with a slight glare to the angel, which tilted its head at Kevin again and made him flinch back.

"It's all right," Diego assured, petting Kevin's back.

Kevin's legs tightened around Diego, saying, "I don't trust it," with a frown. "How long did you plan on keeping it?"

"We're just running some tests," Diego said, "it's fine."

"I don't think it is," Kevin said, the angel watching him intently.

"Why not?" Diego asked, watching the angel.

Kevin shook his head, saying, "I just...have an uneasy feeling about it."

"Maybe you're hungry," Diego said, "do you want lunch?"

Kevin shook his head, saying, "I don't know if I'll be comfortable enough to eat while it's on this plane."

"It won't be for long," Diego sighed.

Kevin nodded, saying, "Good," but continued giving the angel a wary glance as it pawed at the glass again with long, slender fingers.

Diego sighed, typing a command into his computer and dropping a shoe into its container. Its feathers ruffled in slight surprise, turning and moving over to it with interest, two extra arms folding out from under its wings that hadn't been apparent before. It picked up the shoe with all four arms, turning it about and quickly untying the knot in the lace and pulled the string out. Diego watched, saying, "That's what we caught him with."

Kevin raised a brow, asking, "What was its interest in a shoe?" as it started tying the two ends of the string together, making a loop of string and starting to play advanced cat's cradle.

"It's from this plane," Diego said, "that's interest enough."

Kevin said, "Okay," slowly as the angel somehow tied a bird shape into the string, plucking one of its own feathers and tying it onto the back of the bird. It raised its hands, the bird suddenly levitating before disappearing in a blink, leaving a ripple in the air that shortly disappeared.

Diego blinked, calling, "Get the data from that," to the scientists below.

Kevin had made a whimper when the string disappeared, asking, "What in the Sun's name did it do?"

"I have no idea," Diego said cheerfully.

Kevin frowned, saying, "Diego, you know, if you want to spend more time studying this without me distracting you, I can go..."

"I think you just are nervous," Diego said, "and if you want to leave, you're more than welcome to head home."

Kevin made a distressed sound, "But I don't want you here alone with that," and pointing to the angel, which was now making the shoe levitate and using some form of magic to take it apart, becoming the bottom rubber, insole, and top layer.

"I'm not alone," he said, "trust me, I’ll be fine."

Kevin frowned, "But...I don't know, it seems interested in me. I don't want it to try and follow me when you clearly need it here."

"Stay if you feel obligated," Diego sighed, "I don't want to force you either way."

Kevin said, "Alright," before glancing to his watch. "I have a show in a couple hours."

"All right," Diego said, "are you sure you don't want lunch?"

Kevin nodded, saying, "Fairly sure. To be honest, it's making me sort of sick," as he rubbed his stomach. "Maybe I should run and get some medicine for it."

"All right," Diego said, rubbing his shoulder.

Kevin put a hand over his, the angel suddenly looking up at them as Kevin said, "I'll be back, then," and had only just started moving toward the door when a strange thing happened. The angel disappeared, reappearing outside the cage next to Kevin, grabbed his pants leg, and disappeared in another blink, taking Kevin with him into the glass enclosure.

Diego blinked, too surprised to fully react yet. The rest of the scientists paused, watching the pair. Kevin paused as well, yelping when he realized where he was and backing quickly away from the angel, stumbling over himself but not tripping. The angel made cooing sounds and somewhat bounced after him, its 'feet' never appearing to leave the floor, though its head bobbed up and down as it moved.

Diego realized what was going on, calling instructions to some of the workers and hoping that the angel would be as relatively harmless to Kevin as it had been to him.

Kevin's insect legs appeared, picking himself up with them and backing up quicker, half climbing up the wall as the angel continued to near him, reaching up at him and warbling.

"Don't make it angry," Diego called, walking quickly towards the cave, "that one's decently friendly, you just have to do what it wants."

Kevin snapped, "How in the name of our Smiling God am I supposed to know what it wants?!" as it continued reaching up towards him, making a higher pitched squeak of insistence.

"Just let it touch you, for right now," Diego said, "I’m trying to get you out. It touched me, it's fine."

Kevin blinked and frowned, holding his hands by his chest as it started to whine, the lights in the room flickering. "Fine, fine," Kevin said, very slowly lowering himself to stand on the floor, the angel spreading its wings and flapping up toward him, making him automatically reach his arms out to catch it and block it from getting anywhere near his face. Diego watched intently, the team trying to figure a way to separate the two.

Kevin continued to frown in worry, though the angel shut its eye and looked happy enough, fluttering its wings and trilling. It opened its eye again and tilted its head, reaching for Kevin's face. Kevin's head backed up, saying, "Ah, no-" before the angel started making the whining noise that caused the electronics to malfunction. Kevin groaned and held it a little closer, the angel feeling his mouth and tapping it, Kevin not sure what else that might mean and smiling for it as it traced his lips. Diego continued to watch carefully, mostly concerned for Kevin's health more than anything else.

Kevin kept his mouth split into a smile that was very fake, as his eyes were giving away his discomfort. After a moment, the angel's head suddenly formed a split, a wide mouth exactly like Kevin's appearing with sharp teeth and all. Diego blinked, the scientists running to come up with explanations and he watching intently, not sure this was a good thing.

Kevin's own smile disappeared, saying, "Uh, have you figured out how to get me out of here?" with a hint of worry, though somehow feeling touched that it had copied his appearance.

"Yes," Diego lied, hoping they'd come up with something soon.

Kevin said, "Alright," uncertainly as the angel made a chirping sound, continuing to smile and reaching for Kevin's mouth again. Kevin hesitated and opened his mouth, sticking his long, forked tongue out. The angel studied it and opened its mouth, making a longer version of the tongue and licking Kevin's cheek, making him make a high pitched squeal of worry. Diego frowned, the scientists around him trying to think of something more distracting to put in that would take its attention from Kevin.

The angel flapped its wings again, reaching its four arms towards Kevin as he continued making high-pitched noises of distress, at length letting it go and allowing it to hug him around the neck. By then the scientists were drawing lots to see who was unlucky enough to be sent in after Kevin, Diego giving them a look when they handed him a straw. Kevin paid them no heed, as he was too busy focusing on the angel currently nuzzling into his neck. The angel eventually put a hand on Kevin's temple, both of them turning exceedingly still.

Diego frowned, freezing as well and asking, "What's going on?"

The scientists were taking notes, in the meantime a few of them saying they weren't sure and others asking to take pictures. Kevin blinked after several more long moments, suddenly seeming to focus as the angel made a quiet warble, and suddenly Kevin was smiling and hugging it as it smiled back. Diego frowned, almost more alarmed by the fact that he was no longer afraid.

The other scientists looked to Diego, waiting for instructions as Kevin nuzzled the angel's nose, or would have been if the angel had a visible nose. Kevin let it flap to sit on his shoulder, saying, "I can't believe I didn't know sooner," as he rubbed the angel's stomach with a finger, making the angel's eye droop in a look of ecstasy as it smiled widely.

"Kevin, what's going on?" Diego asked, his voice deceptively calm.

Kevin seemingly didn't hear Diego, instead sitting with the angel who looked to Diego, though its grin was somehow more mischievous now as the 'cracks' on Kevin's arm spelled the word 'MINE', Kevin not taking note.

Diego's eyes widened and he snapped, "Get them away from each other!" to his team.

The angel's smile disappeared, turning into a deep frown and a piercing glare as it hissed, clinging to Kevin's shirt. Kevin shushed it, looking up to the door of the cage as it opened and some wary scientists stood blocking the way out. Kevin stood slowly, the electronics in the room starting to make groaning sounds and sparking as if going into overdrive.


	13. When One went Missing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you all must hate us for that last cliffhanger >:D . for those who haven't noted, we're writing another fic called If You Want to Summon a Demon, so feel free to check it out. I should warn you that it will be making slow progress as my gf has an internship for the next couple weeks (she's a protege with clay/sculpting) and she's gone for a majority of the day. it will probably end up affecting the speed at which I can update this fic too, unfortunately ;-; anywho, thanks for the read, and seriously if you have anything to say feel free to comment! things you love/hate, ship comments, thoughts on kevin, thoughts on your pet, thoughts on your grandma, we just wanna hear from you fine people :D

Carlos and Cecil had gotten to Josie in record time, Cecil out of the car almost before it stopped and Carlos not bothering to properly park. The whispering forest made its usual comments to them, but they were too focused on the task at hand, and perhaps aided by the angels' auras, to fall under the forest's spell.

Cecil glanced around frantically, spotting Josie and walking briskly up to her. He took one of her hands and said, "Hello, Josie. Have you found Erika yet?"

"No," she sighed, "the angels are mad with worry."

Cecil glanced around, saying, "I see that. Where was the last place he...she...it was?"

"Wandering outside," Josie said, "he seemed interested in the bushes but really, no one was going to bother him."

Cecil asked, "So you don't think it was kidnap or something? He just...vanished?"

"Nothing was going to be able to kidnap Erika," Josie said, "no offense, dear."

"It's fine, I was making sure," Cecil said, thinking hard. "Don't your fine feathered friends have a way of traveling between planes?"

"I suppose so," she said, "I try not to mention it, I think they miss their plane."

Cecil narrowed his eyes, asking, "Which one is theirs?"

"Third, I believe," Josie said, pulling a picture out of her purse that made one's eyes burn to look at.

Cecil blinked, letting his eyes adjust momentarily and saying, "That's quite an image. Have you ever been there?"

"No," Josie chuckled, "I’ve only taken road trips to the second plane."

"You'll have to tell me about it sometime," Cecil said, looking to the picture again. "Anyway, how far do you expect Erika could have gotten?"

"I’m not sure," she frowned, lowering her voice and adding a murmured, "I don’t think he's on this plane anymore."

Cecil frowned, beckoning to Carlos to lean in closer so they could talk softer in the presence of the other angels, saying, "If he's not, and the others find out, would they follow him?"

"They would try, I think," Josie said as she twisted her hands together in worry.

Carlos frowned and asked, "What would that do?"

Cecil frowned, saying, "That depends on what plane they'd end up in. Multi-planar beings can indeed travel between planes at will, but if they change planes it becomes incessantly hard for them to want to leave if they stay too long."

Carlos frowned, "Does that mean Erika won't want to come back?"

"If he stays away too long..." Cecil mused, glancing to Josie.

"He won't want to," Josie frowned, "it'd upset the other angels."

Cecil nodded as though he expected as much, saying, "But whatever plane has the 'angels' in it has an advantage. Everything in the plane becomes more potent and connected."

"That's why we need him back, dear," Josie sighed.

"If the other angels follow Erika, whatever plane they end up in might affect them," Cecil frowned. "I think I'm correct in assuming they adapt quickly?"

"Yes," Josie said, "they certainly seem to."

"The sooner they adapt, the less likely they'll leave," Cecil guessed. "We probably don't have much time befo-" he stopped when an angel floated up behind them, holding a small bird made of string and studying it intently. Carlos looked over, not understanding what it was or why all of the angels suddenly seemed very excited. Cecil straightened as the bird started levitating, a feather attached to its back. He asked slowly, "Is that...?" as other angels started approaching, all raising their arms towards the bird.

"It’s made of a shoelace," Carlos said, "and... an angel feather?"

"I think it is," Cecil said, not entirely sure what to make of it as the angels started making excited sounds, talking amongst themselves as the two leading angels held the bird between them.

"Is it Erika's?" Carlos asked, Josie replying, "I think so, dear."

Cecil frowned, saying, "But...if it's here, where'd it come from?"

"With how they're fascinated by it, I have to say it's from another plane," Josie said.

Cecil hissed, "But what if they trace it and follow it?" quietly.

"Let's hope they don't," she murmured, watching them warily

Cecil said, "Even if they find out, could we stop them?"

"No," Josie frowned, "that's what worries me."

All at once, the angels started making excited trills and triumphant sounds of glee, a few smaller ones disappearing, leaving ripples in the air. Cecil blinked, breathing, "By the Void," as at least the two larger angels and some others remained hesitant. Josie watched them, wringing her hands nervously as Carlos put a hand on Cecil's shoulder. The angels themselves looked anxious, though the two main ones looked conflicted. One of them gargled something to Josie, wanting to follow the sign they got from Erika but also not wanting to leave her.

She said something back, trying to explain that going over was more than likely a bad idea. The angels looked at each other, warbling between themselves before the angel asked Josie if one could follow and the other stay. She explained she'd prefer both to stay but would need at least one. They looked to each other again, the second lead angel turning to address the remaining smaller angels, doing what appeared to be a headcount and nodding, telling her that six would stay if the other six could go. She nodded, relaying this information to Cecil and Carlos and blowing them a good luck kiss. One of the lead angels bent to hug her, warbling something before disappearing with two other angels, leaving one leader and five others.

Josie watched them go, saying, "I hope they'll be alright."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cecil and Carlos bade the angels and Josie farewell, telling her to call if anything else came up. The angels crowded around Josie to comfort her, Cecil glancing to them in his rearview mirror as they got in the car to drive home, Cecil taking the wheel this time.

Carlos frowned, deep in thought as they started driving and holding Cecil's free hand as they went. Cecil was absently rubbing a thumb over Carlos' hand, a tentacle wrapped partially around his wrist. Suddenly, Cecil's hand and tattoo tightened as he made a quiet 'ack' of pain, the hand on the wheel flinching and causing the car to turn. Cecil corrected the wheel right away but blinked through a certain pain he'd never felt.

"Cecil?" Carlos asked, his hand tightening automatically as he turned to him.

"I...think I'm alright," Cecil said, blinking as his vision started turning fuzzy. He shook his head, and only when it didn't clear up did he decide it might be best to pull over, putting the car in park and using his now-free hand to rub his head.

Carlos frowned, taking his wrist and feeling his pulse highly elevated. He rubbed his thumb over his wrist, asking, "What's wrong?"

"Just...sudden pain," Cecil said tightly, glad he had pulled over as he leaned his head to rest against the wheel.

Carlos rubbed his back, "Could it have something to do with the angels?"

"Probably," Cecil said, shutting his eyes tightly and sitting up carefully, opening them again to reveal that his purple irises had gone utterly black.

Carlos sucked in a breath, saying, "Ce-cecil?" nervously.

Cecil glanced about, muttering, "That's odd," to himself, his voice still the same.

"What is?" Carlos asked, watching him carefully.

Cecil studied his hand, saying, "It's like...I'm seeing two different worlds at once."

"What?" Carlos asked, the hand on his back stilling.

"Mostly ours, but...a ghost of another," Cecil explained. "I...see Erika!" he exclaimed in surprise.

"Where?" Carlos said, "the other world?"

"Yeah," Cecil said, "in...oh Void, of course it is," he groaned.

"What?" Carlos asked nervously, his eyes flicking between studying Cecil's.

"The Bluffs," Cecil frowned. "I think...Erika somehow affected Kevin," he said, though the name still came out in more of a growl.

"Oh gods," Carlos mumbled, turning the key in the car to turn it off entirely.

Cecil shut his eyes, groaning, "I don't want to see more of this."

"What's going on?" Carlos asked, brushing his hair out of his face.

Cecil shivered, "There's just...so much blood."

"If you close your eyes, do you still see it?" Carlos asked.

Cecil nodded, "Unfortunately." He mumbled something in foreign under his breath, and when he opened his eyes again, the blackness melted back into his pupils. He took a deep breath, saying, "Well, headache is persistent, but the vision is gone."

"Okay," Carlos said, "I'll drive."

Cecil didn't argue for once, nodding tiredly and getting out of the car, moving to the passenger seat. When they were in the car again, a tattoo wrapped behind Carlos' back as Cecil rubbed his own head with a hand again.

"I'm sure it won't last too long," Carlos frowned, putting the car into drive and heading home.

"I'm hoping not, depending on if Erika had anything to do with it," with a frown of his own. "I hope this won't get in the way of my show."

"I'm sure it'll be ok" Carlos sighed, rubbing his shoulder.

Cecil hummed, more in thought but not sure what to think as he put a hand over Carlos'. He said, "Just take it easy around corners," with a small smile, trying to brush off the actual amount of pain he was in.

Carlos sighed, driving somewhat slowly and asking, "You think painkillers would help?"

Cecil shook his head, "Doubtfully. If the pain is coming from my opposite, then I think he'd be the one needing them."

"Ah," Carlos frowned, pulling into his driveway. Cecil said quick thanks before entering the house, Khoshekh jumping off the couch to run over and greet them, rubbing his face on their ankles. Carlos grinned, picking the cat up and asking, "You think it would help to try to take a nap?"

Cecil shrugged, "I'm not sure. I could try, but I'm not particularly tired after all that."

"Want something to eat?" Carlos tried. "I could make tea."

"Tea would be great," Cecil grinned, though it faded quickly. Khoshekh started to struggle in Carlos' grip, wanting to be held by Cecil. Carlos handed the cat over, going to put the kettle on before ushering Cecil to the couch. Cecil sighed, saying, "I'm fine," defiantly as he scratched behind the cat's ears, Khoshekh purring loudly.

"I'm sure," Carlos said, making him lie on the couch while the water boiled.

Cecil groaned in irritation, not wanting to be waited on by Carlos as the cat cuddled up on his lap, instantly stopping him from leaning up. He mumbled, "How can my lap be comfy?" as his legs were more or less two twigs.

"I find it comfy," Carlos said, pouring hot water into a mug.

Cecil snorted, "How do _you_ find it comfy, then?"

"I don't know," Carlos said innocently, heading over with the steeping tea

Cecil said, "I think you might have a skewed sense of comfort," as he moved his legs for Carlos, Khoshekh making an undignified sound but moving to lay on his stomach.

"Probably," Carlos agreed, handing Cecil the mug. 

Cecil chuckled, taking the mug with a nod of thanks and taking a sip, his tattoos wiggling happily across his skin. Carlos smiled, leaning his head back on the couch and petting Khoshekh's back. The cat purred, tail flicking happily as Cecil mumbled, "Wonder how long this is gonna last?"

"Hopefully not long," Carlos said. "What do you think is happening?"

Cecil shook his head, saying, "Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe Erika felt threatened by Kevin and did something. I wouldn't blame him." Carlos sighed, running his hand through his hair and frowning. Cecil said, "If they're in the Bluffs, who knows how the angels will be affected?" with a hint of worry.

"I don't know," Carlos frowned, "I imagine they adapt to the environment."

Cecil nodded, "So Josie guessed. But if they think adaptation means being like Kevin," he trailed off, shaking his head again.

Carlos said, "I hope it's a voluntary adaption, not something they do automatically."

Cecil shrugged again, "Not a clue," before he shifted, turning to lay against Carlos' lap. "If I had to guess, I'd think they only start allowing themselves to adapt when they either decide they want to stay somewhere or when they feel like they have no other choice."

"Makes sense," Carlos sighed, starting to card his fingers through Cecil’s hair.

Cecil hummed, petting Khoshekh in turn, who was drinking in the attention. He thought a moment and said, "Y'know, something like Kevin wouldn't make the best role model for a new plane. Wonder what Erika was interested in about him?"

"Probably that he's your opposite," Carlos said, "as it knows you."

Cecil blinked, mumbling, "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you've got a headache," Carlos said, brushing through his hair again.

Cecil asked, "Do headaches usually cause people to think less? They should really think about banning headaches."

"They should," Carlos said, "but yes, they can be distracting."

The radio-host groaned, leaning his head back a bit more and sighing, "I hope you know I won't let a headache stop me from doing my show."

"I hope you know a headache means I'm coming with you," he sighed.

Cecil gave him a look, saying, "To work, sure, but not my booth if it'd be anything like last time with you there during show hour."

"I promise not to mess with you," Carlos sighed, brushing his hair out of his face.

Cecil chuckled, "You sure you'll be able to resist?" as he turned his head a fraction towards where Carlos' hand was.

"Yes," he sighed, "I don't want to leave you in case this gets worse."

Cecil whined, "You know I don't like being waited on. I'll be alright; I have to be."

"I'm coming anyways," Carlos said, "just in case. Drink your tea." Cecil sighed, sitting up and leaning against the scientist as he sipped his tea, humming in appreciation again and making the plants in the room suddenly look perkier. Carlos wrapped an arm around him, asking, "When do we have to leave for work?"


	14. The Angels' Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohgod i'm sorry we've kept you waiting so long for this, and for those who don't know, we're writing another fic called If You Want to Summon a Demon, which is another NV au. so if you need something to tide you over between updates of this fic, feel free to visit it. and also, that fic has shorter chapters, but we'll probably be updating it more often for the time being. also also, a new character is coming up next chapter :3

The angel on Kevin's shoulder ruffled its feathers in content, nuzzling against Kevin's cheek as they sat on a couch in one of the lounges made for Strex's higher-class workers in Diego's department. A strexpet with brown fur had trotted in earlier (there were several acting as guard-dogs to the building in various locations), spotted the angel, and yelped in fear before running. Kevin hadn't paid the Strexpet the slightest bit of attention, just as he was ignoring the blood still on his outfit from his encounter with Diego's scientists earlier.

Diego was sitting nervously on a couch opposite them, not really sure how to address this issue and trying to think of a way to send it back. Kevin was grinning and babying the angel, who was staying as close to him as possible, making trills and warbles of happiness at the new 'guardian'.

Diego cleared his throat, asking, "What ah... are you doing?"

Kevin said, "Watching over this cute lil' fella," as the angel fluttered its wings gently.

"What's... the angel doing?" he restated.

Kevin shrugged, "Haven't the slightest, besides being adorable," as the angel turned, smirking with Kevin's smile.

Diego blinked at it in alarm, not liking that at all and asking "how long is it going to be... staying here?"

Kevin made a thoughtful expression, looking to the angel, who made a warble and shrugged. Kevin said, "I think it depends."

"Depends on what?" he asked, not sure who he was really addressing.

Kevin and the angel looked to Diego at the same time, saying, "On how long I have to be here," simultaneously but in two very different languages.

"You're... welcome to go," Diego said, "without Kevin."

"I need him," they said in the same fashion. The angel narrowed its eye as it said, "You wanted to experiment with me. He's my insurance."

"I wanted to take readings, not experiment on you," Diego said.

"And I said _with_ me, not on me. My abilities aren't to be taken so lightly," they said.

"Well, I've clearly learned that," Diego said.

"I suppose I should mention these affects aren't permanent," they said. "He'll be yours again soon enough."

"Ok," Diego said, relaxing again somewhat.

"Until then I could make you uncomfortable," they smirked, their grins mirroring each other perfectly.

"You're succeeding," Diego said, knowing there was no point in denying it.

They chuckled, the angel putting a hand on Kevin's jaw and adding, "I hope you didn't try calling a guard or anything. I hate to waste more lives."

"I won't," he said, watching it carefully.

"Good," the angel said, nuzzling against Kevin's jaw, making Kevin grin and tilt his head. Diego frowned, watching the two of them and not liking it. The angel put one hand on Kevin's neck, fluttering his wings again and rubbing his face on Kevin's cheek, making Kevin chuckle, "That tickles."

"You're not ticklish there," Diego reminded him.

The angel warbled something, sliding to sit on Kevin's lap, laying across it with its stomach up like a cat. Kevin rubbed the angels stomach, petting its wings as well and cooing, "You're too cute! Everyone in the Bluffs should have one," before the angel stretched a very long tongue out to lick his cheek, the line crossing Kevin's lips by default.

Diego twitched slightly but refused to fully react, instead tapping his fingers on his knee. Before the small angel could continue, Kevin blinked and looked over when a low humming noise like electronics booting up emanated from a corner. Suddenly, there were ripples in the air and a larger angel appeared, making a trill of joy when it saw the smallest angel and gliding over to it. Diego blinked, surprised to see another angel and watching three more appear, more electricity vibrating in the air.

The angels all had different features, but their presence either startled the smallest one enough to let Kevin go, or their being there was somehow affecting its power usage, for Kevin blinked, screeched quietly, moved away from the smallest angel and sprouted insect legs to crawl backwards. He sat himself by Diego, hugging him across the shoulders and watching the angels in fear, making clicking noises of worry.

Diego sighed, "This is a bit unexpected," and wrapped an arm around Kevin.

The smallest angel warbled to the others, who seemed to be questioning it on whether it was okay. Kevin nodded and mumbled, "Told you it was a bad idea bringing it here."

"I'll admit there were unexpected circumstances," Diego agreed.

Kevin gave him a look, saying, "So next time maybe you'll listen to me before bringing creatures from other planes here?"

"All right," Diego sighed, "all right. Right now though we need to figure out what to do."

Kevin nodded, the smallest angel still warbling to the others as they watched them. Soon enough, a sixth angel, larger than any currently there, appeared, and glided straight towards the smallest one. It made a humming sound and picked up the tiny angel, nuzzling their foreheads together but drawing back, tilting its head at the angel's new smile. Diego watched them, the other angels forming a small ring around the two and causing the electric wiring in the room to go haywire.

Kevin frowned, "At this rate, an electrician is going to show up..."

"I don't want to send you to distract them..." Diego frowned, "but we can't let the angels near other people.”

Kevin made a small whimpering sound, "Well...if it's for the good of Desert Bluffs, I suppose I could..."

"Do you remember what happened when the angel had you?" Diego asked.

Kevin shook his head slightly, saying, "It's...kind of a blur, really. I don't think he means to leave me alone forever, though."

Diego frowned at that, "Uhm... maybe look at your clothes," gently.

Kevin narrowed his eyes, slowly looking down and putting his hands over his mouth with a stifled gasp. "He decorated my outfit!" he said with unexpected appreciation. "How come I never thought of blood staining?"

Diego frowned, sighing, "They weren't too happy about giving you the blood."

Kevin looked back to him with a questioning look, saying, "You mean...it made me...?"

"I think some of them might have survived?" he offered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Kevin frowned, saying, "Oh," quietly. "Well, I mean, if some of them are alright, I guess it's...not so bad," he said, trying to find positives about the situation.

"I'm sure," Diego said half heartedly, "but that's why we can't let people near these."

Kevin gave it a look, saying, "I don't know that he particularly wanted to hurt anyone. I think he just felt threatened."

"If other people come in he might feel threatened again," Diego said, "i'm just hoping they'll leave."

Kevin said, "It was your idea to catch him. Why'd you want him to begin with?"

"Study," he said, "it's too late to worry about that now."

Kevin sighed, "Your science is going to get you in more trouble than this one day," before several of the angels turned to look at them when the smallest one told them something. Diego frowned, putting his arm just barely in front of Kevin and looking between the angels. The smallest angel chirped something, making the others look back to it and watch it as it flew between them, landing on Kevin's lap before Kevin had the chance to dodge it.

Diego froze, looking back to Kevin while trying to also keep an eye on the other angels in the room. Kevin made another quiet whimper, the angel putting a hand on his cheek, making him shut his eyes though he remained relatively still, his insect legs twitching. He blinked his eyes open, saying, "It's convenient it can communicate telepathically through touch..."

"Right," Diego said, staring at him and forgetting to watch the angels behind him.

Kevin said, "It...won't mess with me again, provided it doesn't think you're trying to hurt it or its siblings again." One of the angels with six small eyes and no clear irises leaned over and pinched a small lock of Diego's hair between two of its long fingers, making a quiet cooing noise.

Diego sighed, not really enthused about being prodded again but saying, "I'm not going to hurt any of the angels."

Kevin concentrated on whatever the angel was telling it again, translating, "It says we'll see. Also, their names are Erika."

"Right," Diego said, "are they going home soon?"

Kevin looked back to it, frowning and saying, "Er...that's...a bit more complicated."

"How so?" he asked, ignoring the angels studying his hair.

Another angel had joined the first by Diego, combing through his hair and warbling to one another as Kevin said, "They...feel more drawn to this plane, now. Probably because, to make it simpler for our understanding according to tiny Erika, he started to imprint on me."

"Oh...kay," Diego said, "so what they're saying is they don't want to go home."

Kevin listened again and shrugged, "They have no home. They've visited each plane at least once, though, and apparently like this plane and the first the best."

"You could go back to the first plane..." Diego suggested.

"It wants to know why you suddenly want him gone after luring him here," Kevin said, an angel that had studied Diego previously taking his arm again to look at.

Diego ignored the arm that was currently being held aloft, saying, "Because i was going to send you back in the first place"

The angel raised its brow skeptically, its feathers ruffling in annoyance as Kevin started and looked at it, saying, "That wasn't very nice," as it looked back at him with a puppy eye. Diego raised a brow, not bothering to attempt to contradict the angel that was moving his fingers for him. Kevin cleared his throat, saying, "Nothing, just...bad names. Anyway, Erika seems annoyed you'd risk removing him from his preferred plane, when now moving back of his own volition will be harder due to imprinting on me." He listened again and said, "And wants you to know this is why you shouldn't meddle in the affairs of angels."

"I think we can say I've already learned my lesson," Diego said, "you did kill probably all of my scientists."

Kevin glanced to the angel, who warbled something before Kevin said, "Uh...you can have zombie scientists, if you want?"

"No," Diego said firmly, tugging his arm back when the angel holding it tried to stick its arm up his sleeve, with his arm still in it.

"Didn't figure," Kevin mumbled, listening and conveying, "then Erika says sorry, and would like to point out he did not in fact kill all your scientists."

"I'm glad possibly one made it," Diego frowned, jolting forwards when an angel shoved its hand down the back of his lab coat.

The miniature angel seemed to chuckle as Kevin quoted, "More than one, thank you. And are you uncomfortable?"

"No, not at all," Diego grit out, feeling the extremely cold angel's hand feeling the material on his back.

Erika grinned from Kevin's lap, Kevin saying, "Erm...and I quote, 'Good, I'd do it myself but I needed this translator'." Diego gave him a look, praying to the smiling god that the angel would remove its hand from his back. Eventually, the angel did in fact lose interest, but it only removed its hand from his back so it could grab the material of his lab coat and attempt to remove it. Diego sighed, shrugging out of the coat and surrendering it.

Kevin's eyes widened a bit as the angel trilled happily, nuzzling into the coat's material shortly before draping it over its own head, looking to another angel, which put its arm through the arm of the coat as it remained on the first angel's head. The smallest Erika rubbed over his eye with a hand, Kevin saying, "He's...embarrassed to be related to them, sometimes."

"I don't expect to get the coat back," Diego said, "but you're not getting any more of my clothes."

Kevin shrugged, "I wouldn't mind them studying it," with a smirk that was slowly mirrored by Erika. Diego gave them a look, the expression shifting to the angel that tugged at his shoe. The angel that was pulling at the shoe was one of the smaller ones, indeed the same one that had claimed his shoe last time while in Cecil's studio. Erika gurgled something to the others, who have him a look and made warbles and trills of question. Diego looked to Erika, in his distraction his shoe coming lose and being claimed by the smaller angel.

The smaller angel trilled and glided off with it, studying it closely for reasons none of them quite understood. The other angels shrugged and joined in, one of them reserving the pocket of his pants as another tried to tug his shirt off. The two with his lab coat remained enthralled with it, one of them finding a pliers in the pocket and opening and closing it, eventually finding it boring and tossing it aside. Diego shook his head in exasperation, hoping it'd be over soon.


	15. Lauren

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sure you've all been waiting for this one ;3 i had fun writing her, and don't worry, it won't be the last we see of lauren

In twenty minutes an extremely irritated Diego was sitting in the chair in his boxers, highly determined to keep at least that on as the angels played with the rest of his clothing, two trying to put on his pants at the same time. The angels with his pants kept gracefully tripping over each other, trying to coordinate and failing as Kevin and tiny Erika watched all of them with cloned smiles.

Diego glared at the angel that approached, saying, "There is no way. You are getting my boxers,” slowly.

Kevin and Erika exchanged a look, Erika cooing something and putting a hand on Kevin's cheek. He didn't flinch away from it, saying, "I know he'd look better without them, but I have to respect his privacy."

Diego gave them both exasperated looks, saying, "No, you may not."

Kevin gave him a look, looking back to the angel and blushing orange, saying, "Well yes he lets me do it, but that's different."

"Very different," Diego said firmly, "these are staying on."

The angel next to him pouted before tiny Erika sighed and made a clicking sound to shoo it off. Kevin rubbed Erika's head with a finger, the mini angel warbling and stretching its neck up into his hand.

"I take it you're no longer afraid of them?" Diego said.

Kevin pondered a moment and said, "Y'know, I gave it some thought earlier. They're actually pretty neat," he beamed widely, the angel smiling the same way.

"Right," Diego said, "and you came up with that thought on your own."

Kevin said, "Well, within the last twenty or so minutes, yes," with a smirk. Diego gave him a look, batting an angel's hand away from his underwear. Kevin said, "Oh come on, they're just being curious," with a widening grin at the usage of Diego's words from earlier. Diego gave him another look, slapping another angel away from his underwear and watching an angel put his socks on its hands. Tiny Erika reached up to talk to Kevin again, Kevin responding, "Well, no, that's not exactly where they go, but I'm proud of them for trying," as he watched the angels attempt to wear Diego's clothes.

"You _took them off me_ , you should be able to figure that out," Diego said.

The angels all gave him a look, Kevin saying, "Come on Diego, don't be a stick in the mud. Let them have their fun."

"All right," he mumbled, wondering how long it would take them to realize that pockets could not fit whole limbs.

As the angels struggled, they all froze and turned their heads when a woman in a gray business suit with a blue undershirt started walking down a nearby set of glass, modern stairs into the lounge they were seated in. Her wavy blonde hair was almost perfectly styled so not one was out of place, and part of it was over the front of her shoulder as she scanned the room with curious, icy blue eyes.

Diego froze, ducking back against the chair and grabbing one of the pillows to set in his lap. Kevin cleared his throat, almost forgetting they were indeed at work and very likely being monitored via security camera. He stood and grinned, Erika climbing to sit on his shoulder and glare at her curiously as he said, "Oh, hello Lauren," with a fake cheerful attitude. Diego simply cleared his throat, trying to appear to be casually sitting nearly naked, giving off vibes that he normally lent his clothing to interplanar beings.

"Hello Kevin, wonderful to see you," she said in an equally cheery, though actually genuine tone. "Who are your friends?"

Kevin said, "Oh, they're helping Diego with a science project," as the mini angel waved to her. Diego nodded seriously, pretending he was in complete control and there wasn’t an angel trying to braid his hair.

Lauren glanced to him, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow and Kevin immediately noting her lip tugging into a grin and her eyes roaming. He coughed loudly, saying, "Lauren," in his radio voice, smiling widely (though this time rather menacingly), "I do enjoy your company, but don't you have somewhere to be?" Even though his tone was pleasant, it was also powerful, making the colors in the room start to contrast as extra sunlight flooded through a window. Diego glanced to him, raising a brow and able to tell the angels had stilled as well.

Lauren quickly said, "Oh, shoot, you're right, schedule to keep and all," with a forced bubbly chuckle. 

"Good, be on your way," Kevin said, his tattoos five seconds away from manifesting.

Lauren said, "Oh, I will, but don't forget you're due for another recal tomorrow," as she checked her clipboard.

"I'll be sure not to miss it," Kevin said, grin tight.

"I'll remind him," Diego said, willing her to leave and hoping the door hit her when she did.

One of the angels approached her cautiously, she giving it a sideways look and her smile dropping a bit as she said, "Be seeing you, there's a meeting tomorrow for both of you as well," before taking her leave when the angel started reaching to touch her hair.

Diego sighed, "Why are they recalibrating you again? That was just a few days ago, wasn't it?"

Kevin sighed heavily, sitting back down and glaring out the door, the sunlight adjusting to be not so blinding as he said, "They might've noticed I'm a bit more Free than they'd prefer."

Diego frowned, mumbling, "I guess that'd do it."

Kevin sighed, "You really should keep your ah...experiment under lock and key." He hoped Diego would get he meant the anti-serum, for if they were being monitored and Strex found out, he didn't even want to know what sort of recal they'd perform on their head scientist.

"I know," Diego said, frowning and rubbing a hand through his somewhat-braided hair, much to the despair of the angel that had braided it.

Kevin frowned as tiny Erika flew to his shoulder to tell him something, "And uuh...Erika thinks it might be a good idea to leave the building so we have no more surprise interruptions."

"I'd need my clothing," Diego said, crossing his arms.

The angels all made sad warbles, the smallest clicking and gurgling something back to them. Kevin said, "I think it said they can observe them a minute longer, but who knows."

"Fine," Diego mumbled, saying, "I at least need my pants and shoes."

Kevin chuckled, "I think they can manage that," and was about to turn to the angel on his lap before the other angels froze and looked to the door Lauren had exited through. Diego frowned, looking towards the door and wishing he wasn't in his underwear, no matter what was about to happen.

The door opened to Lauren, standing with her usual smile and her clipboard, but had a multitude of office workers behind her in business suits, all with bloody sockets where their eyes should've been. Kevin stood again, saying, "Lauren," slowly, the light in the room growing again.

She chuckled, "Kevin," in a happier tone as the businessmen started filing into the room, making snarling sounds.

Diego frowned, standing and asking, "What is the meaning of this?" as he attempted to retain a tone of command.

Lauren said, "Well, clearly, your little friends aren't from this plane. If they're not being used for work to better our company, then they might just be part of illegal experimentation, and we all know that's bad for our company's image."

"They brought themselves here," Diego said. "I didn't really get a choice in it."

Lauren said, "There's only one way to be sure. I think some recal after a bit of a stay in our detention center might do you all some good."

Kevin blanched and squeaked, "We're under _arrest_? But I'm the Voice of the Bluffs!"

"And you'll be able to continue working tomorrow as soon as you're done with recal," she grinned pleasantly, as though nothing were wrong.

Diego frowned, shifting to be slightly in front of Kevin and saying, "That's not necessary."

Lauren laughed, "Of course it is! I'm only promoting the work ethic." Before she could give the command for the eyeless men to attack, and just as Kevin's tattoos were unfolding from his back, all the angels winced simultaneously and made trills and clicking sounds as they held their hands over their apparent ears. Diego frowned, just starting to look around to see what had happened when the world around them blurred and disappeared.


	16. Planning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> argh sorry we've kept you waiting, we're going to try writing both fics at the same time from here on so they're each updated fairly regularly. i've run out of pre-written material for this one, so it will probably still take longer to update :( in the meantime, have some meet-and-greet time between your four favorite people!

Kevin looked around, holding onto Diego with worry at the new sight. They were no longer inside Strexcorp, but inside a house that looked very much like it'd belong to an older couple. It was pleasantly warm inside, smelling of baked goods and something else mildly like lighter fluid. The angels made happy warbles and purrs, starting to drift around as though they owned the place, the smallest Erika flying to Kevin's shoulder. He didn't flinch away from it, having grown used to the angel's company. Diego studied the environment, trying to identify it as he noticed someone sitting in the front porch.

"Where..." Kevin started to ask nervously as Erika put a hand on his cheek, Kevin giving him a questioning look and saying, "Old Woman Josie's?" as more angels entered the room, making happy trills and hugging one another.

Diego recognized the old woman, groaning, "Not again."

Kevin turned to Diego, asking, "You know her?"

"Yes, I got to spend time with her and her... friends," Diego frowned, unamused as the angels noticed that he was only in his boxers.

The other angels luckily still had his other articles of clothing, sharing them with the angels who had stayed on the first plane. Kevin mumbled quietly, "I don't like this place, there's so little blood," as he looked around the quaint little living room.

"There's almost none here," he murmured, feeling something off and hearing a car park behind them.

Kevin heard it too, tattoos manifesting slowly, some wrapping behind Diego as Kevin whispered, "What's going on?"

"I think I recognize the car," Diego frowned, turning to see Cecil and Carlos were indeed approaching.

"Oh," Kevin grinned, seeing the two, "what an odd happenstance!" Erika made a warble from Kevin's shoulder, making a high-pitched keen a moment later, calling for Josie.

Josie headed over, Carlos frowning at Diego and Diego frowning at him. Erika flew off Kevin's shoulder to Josie, warbling happily and nuzzling her chin as Kevin said, "Cecil, how good to see you! Carlos, you haven't changed a bit!"

Cecil growled, "Don't say my boyfriend's name," as he put an arm around Carlos possessively.

Carlos sighed, Diego frowning and saying, "Don't talk to him like that."

Kevin said, "Oh, pshaw, it's fine. Cecil's a good guy, he hugged me last time and-"

"That wasn't a hug," Cecil groaned with exasperation. "How many times to I have to cover that choking is not hugging?"

"It was nice, all the same," Kevin said, seeming chipper as ever.

Diego gave Cecil a look, Carlos glaring at Diego for it and Josie saying, "Hello, dears."

"Hello!" Kevin said with a wide smile.

Cecil said, "Hi, Josie," and ignored Kevin. "We came as soon as we got your message."

"Thank you, dear," Josie said, Carlos not sure if he wanted to know why Diego was almost completely naked.

Cecil noted this as well, frowning in distaste and asking, "Does anyone actually know what just happened?"

Erika trilled, warbling and gargling in his own language to Josie, explaining why they brought Diego and Kevin there. "They were in a bit of trouble, apparently," Josie said, "and we're in a bit of trouble, too."

Cecil frowned, asking, "What did you do?" to Kevin.

Kevin raised his hands, tucking his insect legs away and saying, "Don't look at me; one of Strex's top secretaries wasn't a fan of the angels and brought in a team to arrest us."

"The angels were far too curious," Diego frowned, watching one float by wearing his lab coat.

Erika gave him a look, warbling to Josie and giving her a puppy eye of apology. Josie chuckled, patting the angel's head and saying, "They're naturally curious."

Erika's eye shut as he leaned up into her hand, nuzzling into her palm as Cecil said, "Diego found that out last time," with an amused look at the angels wearing Diego's clothes.

Diego frowned at him, Carlos saying, "I'm sure he did."

Cecil sighed, "In any case, why should we help you? You're both high on Strex's corporate ladder from my understanding," he crossed his arms.

"Our realities are collapsing, dear," Josie reminded him.

Cecil gave her a confused look, saying, "So you're suggesting they stay here until our planes collide?"

"I'm suggesting you find a solution," Josie sighed.

Cecil groaned, "But that could take awhile! Where are they gonna stay until then?"

"We could stay with you?" Kevin suggested.

"Definitely not," Cecil said firmly, glaring at his opposite.

"They could stay with me," Josie said, Diego saying, "No," firmly.

Cecil said, "What, because of the angels? Josie can control them better than I can."

"I want to keep my pants on," Diego said.

Cecil said, "I'm sure, and she can make them give you your clothes back."

"But y'know, she doesn't _have_ to," Kevin grinned, tiny Erika chuckling.

"I don't want to wake up surrounded by angels," Diego said.

"So lock your door, everyone knows the so-called angels respect people's privacy that way," Cecil said as though it were obvious.

Diego continued to look unconvinced, Carlos reaffirming, "you're not staying with us."

Kevin pouted, "We'd behave. Besides, I'm sure you'd rather keep a close eye on us."

Cecil said, "Not really, no. In fact, if I had a say in the manner, I'd prefer you back home in a Strex jail cell," making Kevin flinch.

"No need to bring up unpleasant thoughts," Kevin mumbled, rubbing his arm.

Diego gave Cecil a look, wrapping an arm around Kevin as Josie said, "Maybe we should all think about how to solve this, first."

Cecil sighed, "Fair enough, Josie. Does anyone have any ideas?" he asked, looking to Carlos.

Carlos frowned in thought, "I could try to do some readings on the imbalance's patterns."

Kevin said, "Great! Maybe Diego could help you?"

The two scientists said, “No,” simultaneously, glaring at one another.

Kevin frowned, saying, "Oh come on. You're the two brightest scientific minds on our planes! Working together you could probably invent all sorts of exciting things!"

"I don’t think that'd quite work out," Diego frowned.

Cecil said, "Besides, if they're working together that'd mean you'd want to hang out with me."

"Well of course!" Kevin said brightly.

Cecil turned to Carlos, saying, "Yeah I think you should work alone."

Carlos nodded, Josie saying, "Behave, boys."

Kevin pursed his lips, saying, "Think realistically. In the long run, if you never want to have to deal with us all on the same plane again, and I can't imagine why you wouldn't, then the best way to fix it is starting now, working together."

"The angels might be helpful," Carlos said, "they're interplanal."

Cecil said, "Ooh, that's a good place to start! But...wouldn't we have to know exactly how they move between planes?"

"Yeah, how would you study that?" Kevin asked, Cecil glaring at him for stealing his question.

"We could ask?" Carlos said, glancing to Josie, who asked Erika. Erika put a hand on his chin, making a humming sound in thought and conveying to Josie that he could travel back and forth easiest of all the angels, having the least amount of matter to move between planes. However, the best way he could describe moving between them was like opening doors and pushing through them to the other realities. Josie translated this, Carlos and Diego frowning in thought.

Kevin said, "Wellll, if our two geniuses want quiet time-"

"I'm not hanging out with you," Cecil said, crossing his arms.

"Oh come on, give me a chance!" Kevin smiled. "I'm sure you'll warm right up to me like our sun!"

Cecil looked slightly sick, saying, "Never compare me to your sun again."

"Kevin, stop bothering Cecil," Carlos said absently.

Kevin huffed, "I don't mean to," as tiny Erika gurgled something to Cecil.

Cecil frowned, asking, "Do I have to?" with a tone of desperation.

The angel chirped sharply and pointed at Kevin, followed by a shooing gesture. Cecil took a large breath, growling, "Fine, come on Kevin. I'm taking you to the dog park."

"Yay! I love dogs!" Kevin beamed.

Carlos raised a brow, saying, "Cecil..."

Cecil said, "Don't worry, we won't go _inside it_ ," as though it were obvious, though the smirk he threw Kevin's way suggested otherwise as they headed towards the door. Carlos sighed, letting him go and continuing to think.

Erika hummed and warbled at Josie, wondering if Cecil was taking advantage of his play on words, saying 'we' wouldn't go into the park.

"I'm sure he wont do something drastic," Carlos sighed, still considering. Erika rolled his eye, flapping over to sit on Carlos' shoulder, touching his cheek and properly conveying Cecil's likely intent. "I... fine, I'll get them," Carlos sighed, starting after them.

Fortunately for Carlos, Cecil and Kevin had only gotten about thirty feet out the front door. It could be assumed that Kevin said something insulting regarding Carlos or was already annoying Cecil to the brink, for when Carlos opened the door, Cecil had Kevin pinned to the ground in an attempt to strangle him, Kevin smiling and talking about how it tickled as his insect legs were trying to pry Cecil off him.

Carlos groaned, "Cecil, knock it off."

"He called your hair not perfect," Cecil growled, annoyed that his hands were just barely being kept from Kevin's neck by Kevin's manifested tattoos, though Cecil's own tentacles were shoving many of them away, making them both look more like a tangled mess of limbs.

"Yeah, because it's not," Carlos said, "come on, we're just going to keep you guys here."

Cecil said, "It's definitely perfect, how many times do I have to tell you..." as he only tried harder to reach Kevin's throat.

Kevin stopped himself from laughing long enough to say, "Don't worry, this is fun! And for the record, I never said your hair wasn't perfect, only that I've seen better." The reinstatement made Cecil growl, eyes flashing purple.

"Ok, ok, that's enough," Carlos said, lifting Cecil off of him.

Cecil's body moved, but his tentacles remained pinning most of Kevin's tattoos to the ground, Kevin sitting up and chuckling, "Thanks, Carlos. I see why you like him, he's so kind and protective!"

"Really, not talking would be great right now," Carlos said, lifting Cecil away.

Cecil continued growling, the grip of his tattoos remaining like steel around Kevin's. Kevin stood slowly, saying, "Really, if you can't make him let go, it's alright. We needed the quality time."

"I'll show you quality time," Cecil grumbled, looking ready to pounce the moment Carlos let go.

"Cecil, come on now," Carlos said, "it's alright; I don’t mind him so much."

"Your strength astounds me," Cecil said, glaring at Kevin but finally retracting the tentacles. "If you need quiet time, Carlos, I can still take him to the park."

"No," Carlos said, "come on, you're both supposed to stay here now."

Cecil huffed, "Who decided that?" 

Kevin shrugged, "I don't mind, but I was so looking forward to seeing those dogs."

Carlos frowned, saying, "Yeah, that's why you're staying here."

Kevin pouted, "Awh, you're keeping me here because I can't see the dogs?" with a hurt look.

Cecil wiped a hand over his face, sighing, "No, Kevin, it's because no one is allowed in the dog park and _everyone knows that_ ," he snapped.

Kevin blinked in confusion at him, saying, "I certainly didn't. What good is a dog park that's not allowed?"

"Calm down," Carlos sighed, "come on, we're going back." Cecil nodded, allowing Carlos to lead him back into the house as Kevin followed looking like a child told he couldn't have ice cream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i guess i should mention that we decided if this fic gets 1,000 hits by whenever it ends then we're gonna write a special bonus chapter that anyone on tumblr should certainly appreciate ;3 if no one gets it we'll just make fools of ourselves but it'll still be fun to write ^_^ so spread the word!


	17. A Possible Solution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright warning time, not much is gonna go down until the problem is actually being solved, which shouldn't take too long. however, in the meantime you get to enjoy these four dorks trying to put up with one another some more :3

Carlos brought them back to where Diego was still standing, slapping away an angel that had tried to make a grab at his boxers. Kevin pouted, "And now you're stopping them from undressing Diego! Night Vale is a strange place."

Cecil said, "I like our strange place, thank you," as he sat down nearby Carlos.

"You're welcome!" Kevin said brightly on a learned reaction.

Both Diego and Carlos sighed, Josie saying, "Maybe we should go sit somewhere else."

Cecil said, "I'm open for anything, Josie. Thank you for temporarily lending us your home as a thinking space."

"It's no problem, dear," she smiled. Erika warbled in question whether he should make the other angels give Diego's clothes back. "That'd be best, dearie," Josie said.

Erika pouted but trilled and chirped a command at the other angels, making them all flinch and start tugging Diego's clothes off themselves to hand them back. Diego sighed, making a face, as his coat had been torn lightly and his pants were missing a few belt loops. The angels twiddled their thumbs, holding their hands over the torn areas of the clothes and patching up the stitching without needing to physically touch the fabric, bowing their heads as if in shame when they were done. Diego sighed again and pulled his pants on, Josie patting the angel's heads.

The angels purred and gathered around her, each begging for attention. Cecil asked, "Were we moving?"

"I have a nice patio," Josie said, Carlos back to thinking about possible wormholes.

Cecil shrugged, sighing, "Kevin, get Diego," with distaste, but Kevin obliged and gently started nudging Diego outside, as both their boyfriends were in a sort of zone. Diego allowed himself to be lead, Carlos starting to wander in the general direction of the house.

Cecil grabbed Carlos' shoulders, saying, "Other way," calmly, turning him to follow everyone else towards the patio. One of the largest angels warbled at Josie, asking if she had any chores for them to do. She offered to let them clean up the yard, if they wanted, Carlos doing a math equation in his head.

The angels nodded, all except the smallest Erika moving outside to pick up sticks and leaves, ending up making floating sculptures with them that Cecil observed from the patio. After awhile, Kevin's mindless babble was getting to him, so Cecil asked, "Josie, do you have a ball of yarn?"

"Of course dear," Josie said, pulling one out of her pocket without explanation. Her pockets were half the size of the yarn.

"Thank you," Cecil said, ignoring the pocket issue as everyone knew pockets lead to infinite dimensions. He said, "Kevin, catch," and tossed it to him, Kevin catching it and instantly shutting up, observing it and cooing.

"Oooh, what's this?" Kevin asked, starting to untwine it.

"It's yarn, you make clothes with it," Cecil said.

Kevin made a confused face, asking, "How do you make clothes out of a ball of string?"

"No one knows except old ladies," Cecil said, rubbing his chin. "But you can play with it."

"Can I?!" Kevin asked with excitement, looking to Josie.

"Of course," Josie sighed, Carlos and Diego starting to mumble numbers to themselves.

"Oh yay!" Kevin squealed, unraveling more and starting to twist it around his fingers, manifesting two insect legs and splitting the ends into extra fingers to help pull the string into various shapes, giggling madly to himself.

Cecil sighed, "Thank you, Josie," with relief at not having to hear Kevin panic about Strex anymore.

"Of course," she chuckled, Carlos starting to mumble and moving his hands to help illustrate ideas to himself.

Cecil took to watching Carlos, grinning to himself as he enjoyed watching Carlos be sciencey. After a few minutes, Kevin paused in a large mess of string, saying, "Huh, I believe I've made a tactical error," looking quite tangled. 

Cecil glanced over and raised an amused brow, saying, "Don't look at me; if I help you we'll get more tangled." 

Diego paused, looking at Kevin and sighing before standing to help sort him out. Kevin blushed, saying, "Sorry I interrupted your thinking process," as he shifted to try to free himself of the yarn.

"It's fine, just hold still," Diego said.

"Okay," Kevin nodded, obediently holding still but continuing to talk, "this was silly of me. It was fun though! You were right, Cecil!"

"Mmhm," Cecil hummed, pretending like he hadn't been hoping it would happen.

"I'm sure," Diego mumbled, trying to figure out the knots.

Cecil resisted the urge to simply suggest using scissors, tiny Erika watching and not helping, though he knew he could easily detangle Kevin. Kevin chuckled, "Diego, you tickled my leg," as one of his insect legs twitched, Cecil sticking his tongue out slightly in disgust.

"I don't know how you managed to get this tangled," Diego said, trying to pull yarn over his head.

Kevin said, "You can leave me to handle it if you want to get back to thinking. In fact, why aren't you conversing with Carlos on it yet? Don't think I haven't noticed."

"Because," Diego said, untangling one of his insect legs.

"Ooh, you're good at this," Kevin said, folding the leg into a tattoo.

"It's easy when you're not the one tangled," Diego said.

Kevin chuckled, "Probably so. And I'm not letting you off the hook about Carlos."

Cecil said, "Now Kevin, if they don't want to talk to each other I wouldn't pressure them. They're scientists, after all; they know what they're doing."

"And we also don't like each other," Diego pointed out

Kevin said, "I know Cecil isn't fond of me but he still offered to take me to the dog park," defensively. "It's for the sake of our planes! Besides, the more work we can get done the better!" he smiled.

"The dog park is a not good place to be," Diego said, untangling him further.

"Sounded like fun to me," Kevin grumbled. "And this isn't about the dog park anyway!"

"Mhmm," Diego mumbled, now trying to untie the three insect legs he'd somehow managed to tangle together. Erika chuckled to himself about the difficulty Diego was having, Cecil watching Carlos again and resisting the urge to laugh with the tiny angel.

Carlos frowned, blinking and asking, "How much energy does it take to move between planes?"

Erika thought, conveying it technically put more strain on the boundaries between planes than on the angels themselves. The doors being forced open and shut generated their own sort of power. "Could we use that energy to push the planes apart?" Carlos asked.

Erika frowned, scratching his head and saying it was theoretically possible but risky if the planes slipped, so to speak. "Slipped?" Carlos asked, glancing to Josie.

Cecil said, "Well, it's already a fine balance having the planes coexist so close together. Right now, the five other planes are sort've mushed between ours, I think, like an accordion. The strain that'd be put on the planes to stretch them back apart would be cataclysmic if something went wrong and they crashed back together."

"Mm," Carlos hummed, Diego saying, "But right now they're too close, they're going to collide."

Erika warbled something, Cecil nodding and saying, "More like meshing, but yes, it is certainly a problem that needs to be solved. Using the angels is an idea to keep in mind, but just them traveling back and forth wouldn't generate the energy needed."

"They couldn't hold the doors open to generate more energy?" Diego asked.

Erika made a somewhat nervous hum, Cecil saying, "Holding the doors open might allow people from other planes to slip through. And you're thinking about it like it's a machine, but it's so much more complex than that."

Kevin nodded, "I don't know there is a simple solution to this, or if there is one, it won't be safe somehow."

"Right," Diego frowned, Carlos asking "are planes mobile?"

Erika warbled, Cecil translating, "He thinks so, but if one moves, the others will move with it. They're all attracted to each other on a certain level because they all coexist."

"Ah," Carlos frowned.

Kevin rubbed his chin, asking, "Well, the angels themselves can exist on two planes at once, right?" Erika nodded, Kevin continuing, "So...why not just have them stand on both planes and pull them apart?"

Diego and Carlos blinked at him, saying, "That doesn't make sense," in unison, Carlos adding, "scientifically."

Cecil glared at Kevin but growled, "Actually, it does."

"Does it?" they said, again in unison, giving each other unamused looks.

Cecil sighed, "Oh boy, how to explain..." under his breath.

Kevin chirped, "I can try!"

Cecil gave him a look but said, "Fine, I give. Go for it."

Kevin beamed and said, "Well, like Cecil said earlier, you're thinking about it wrong. Science to you is what you know and can prove through observation and experimentation. However, this revolves around something neither of you has truly had the chance to study because nothing like it has ever happened. If the angels can exist on two planes at once, _any_ two planes, then they can stand on both this and the seventh through some higher power only our Smiling God would understand. Anyway, if the planes are so close together, think of it more like...opening two doors into each other. One will block the other, but if they're opened at the same time and meet each other, they'll push apart."

They frowned for a moment, Carlos eventually saying, "That... makes sense, if you don't think about it."

Kevin clapped, saying, "Now you're getting it!"

Cecil rubbed a hand over his face, groaning, "Unfortunately, it _is_ a good idea, if the angels can turn into the proper size to stand on two planes at once."

"Is that possible?" Carlos asked.

Erika rubbed his neck again, warbling and telling Josie it was possible, but potentially fatal to them. That is to say, their beings would become one with the plane, not that they would die. Josie frowned, “Well… that’s a bit… high of a cost."

Erika warbled sadly but meaningfully, saying it'd only affect the angels who took park in the process, probably meaning the two largest ones and himself, though he was at less risk as he'd be lending them power. Josie explained this to the group, Carlos and Diego frowning.

Cecil said, "Well...I mean, he did say it was only a potential outcome. It might not happen."

Kevin nodded, "That's right, we've got to stay positive about this! Even if they disappear, they won't truly be gone. They'll be one with the plane. I think it's rather heroic," he smiled.

Carlos gave him a somewhat exasperated look, saying, "I won't pressure them into doing that."

Erika made a small purring sound, touching Carlos' cheek to convey his thoughts on the matter. Those being, he didn't think his brethren would have a problem with it if it was for the good of the planes.

Carlos blinked, saying, "Well..." as Diego said, "If they offer."

Erika ruffled his feathers and made a high-pitched sound somewhat like a whistle. Within seconds, the two largest angels were inside, gliding towards him and each holding a hand out. He fluttered over to sit on their hands, holding a conversation with them. Cecil frowned, "I'd truly hate to see them gone," softly.

Carlos frowned, nodding as Josie sighed, "Me too, I’ll miss the little angels."

The angels continued warbling back and forth, tiny Erika looking like he had just learned a piece of bad news. He trilled carefully for Josie, turning and continuing to be held by the other angels. Josie frowned, standing and saying, "Yes?"

Erika made a series of gargles, explaining that while it was possible, it'd work best when the planes were even closer together in alignment, meaning it'd be safest to wait for a couple days. Josie frowned, nodding and repeating this to the others.

Cecil pinched the bridge of his nose, saying, "So...we can't force Diego and Kevin back to the Bluffs?" to confirm a vague hope.

"No," Josie sighed, Carlos frowning and asking "...Do they have to stay with us?"

Kevin said, "Well, if we do, you can keep a closer eye on us that way?"

"That’s true," Carlos sighed.

Cecil groaned, "Please don't tell me..." with a look to Josie, who seemed to be of highest authority there.

"Well, it would speed the processes," she admitted.

Cecil rubbed his temples, leaning forward and saying, "Fine, they can stay with us." Diego grinned, Carlos sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Oh shoot," Cecil said suddenly, standing and moving to check the moon outside and hissing, "I need to be at the station soon. I've got my show to run!"

Kevin said, "Oohh, can I come?!"

"No," Cecil said shortly, leaning away from the window. "It's my show for a reason."

"I'll keep an eye on them," Carlos said

Cecil said, "I'm sorry for you," before giving Carlos a hug. "You sure you can handle them?"

"I'll be fine," Carlos chuckled.

"Call if you need help," Cecil said, kissing Carlos' cheek.

Kevin said, "Don't worry, we'll behave!" cheerfully.

"I'll do my best," Carlos chuckled, patting Cecil's back.

Cecil said, "Can you walk home or do you want a ride? Station management gets cranky when I'm late..."

"I can walk," Carlos said, "go ahead."

Cecil nodded, saying, "I'll be on the air in about twenty minutes," as he headed out the door.


	18. New Roommates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow i honestly didn't expect this to hit 1,000 after I made the offer but we'll stay to our word, you've all won a bonus chapter :D (psst, as a hint, it's more or less a gag ending but it'll be fun)

Kevin said, "I've never listened to Night Vale Community Radio. Is it nice?"

"Yes," Carlos said, "it's a good show."

Kevin smiled, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go before we miss it!"

Carlos sighed, Josie saying, "Have a safe trip! Watch out for man-eating sidewalks!"

Kevin said, "Oh, we will! I didn't know you had man-eating sidewalks." 

Tiny Erika trilled, telling Josie to mention the librarians. "And the librarians," she amended.

Kevin blinked and asked, "What's wrong with the librarians?" before he glanced to Carlos.

"They're lethal," he said calmly, far used to it by now.

Kevin hugged Diego sideways, saying, "Sounds terrible. I love the library in the Bluffs."

"Well, I have my own books," Carlos said, quickly adding, "city council approved," to avoid the secret police that were always listening becoming irritated

Kevin said, "Ah, well, anyway, let's get a move on. I want to hear Cecil's show!"

"All right," Carlos said, standing and saying "thanks, Josie."

Kevin nodded, "Yes, thank you very much. We'll have to hang out again sometime, Erika!"

The tiny angel trilled and waved, smiling at Diego. Diego resisted giving the angel a look, instead saying, "Thanks for the rescue." 

Erika flew over to him, giving Diego a hug around the neck as he sat on his shoulder, putting a hand on his cheek and saying, "Sorry about the clothes."

"I got over it," Diego said, standing.

Erika grinned, saying, "I still won't stop them if we meet again."

"Of course you won't," he sighed, scrubbing a hand through his hair.

Erika chuckled and flew back to Josie, nuzzling her chin and waving to the three leaving the house. Josie patted its head, watching them leave and sighing. Erika warbled to her in question, wondering if anything was troubling her besides the fact that Carlos and Diego in the same building might end up causing a scientific disaster. "I'm just worried about the state of things, dear," she sighed. Erika warbled softly, giving her a hug and cooing in comfort. She chuckled, patting its head and going back to the rocker on her porch.

~~~~~~~~

Kevin walked about happily, asking about nearly everything they came across, particularly the glowing cloud in the distance, wondering why the people around them said, "All hail," when he did so.

"Because, it's the Glow Cloud, all hail," Carlos said, walking fairly fast.

Kevin shared a look with Diego, shaking his head and excusing it as a Night Vale thing. When they got to Cecil's neighborhood, Kevin continued asking, "Is this Cecil's?" as they passed each house on the block.

Carlos had long since stopped responding individually, simply walking past houses until he turned into Cecil's walkway. "Ooh, this one must be it!" Kevin clapped, following Carlos excitedly and somewhat glad he knew Carlos better than Cecil.

"This is it," Carlos said, grabbing the spare key and opening the front door

"Ooh, I like it, but needs more blood," Kevin said as he looked around, grinning to Khoshekh, who ran to greet them at the door and froze, glaring to Diego before flat out turning around and sprinting away from Kevin, who pouted.

"You're absolutely not allowed to add any blood or bodily fluids to anything," Carlos said.

"Darn," Kevin sighed, sitting at their island. "Where's the radio?"

"On the kitchen counter," Carlos pointed.

Kevin looked to it, unfolding a tattoo to switch it on, the sound of it not coming from the radio alone but seemingly from the walls. The introduction music to Cecil's show was playing, Kevin grinning, "Sounds like we're right on time."

Carlos grinned at the sound, saying, "You guys can settle in the living room for now."

Kevin said, "Alright," as he hopped off the chair, following Diego to sit on a couch. Khoshekh peered at them from around a corner, trotting over to Carlos and meowing, asking to be fed. Carlos smiled, petting the cat and lifting him onto the counter to grab some leftovers from Khoshekh's last meal. Khoshekh purred, rubbing against Carlos' arm in thanks before digging in, tail flicking happily.

Carlos continued to pet Khoshekh's back, smiling to himself as he listened to Cecil's voice. Cecil talked about recent crime rates dropping due to the new large dream catchers hanging around town that supposedly attracted and caught felons, but no one had seen anyone get caught in them due to the Secret Police's diligent work. Kevin hummed, "Huh, good thing Night Vale sounds like such a safe town."

"Right," Carlos said, not really listening.

Kevin ended up leaning his head on Diego's shoulder, making the soft clicking sounds he considered purring. Khoshekh looked up from his dinner, thinking there was a bug in the house and prepared to chase it.

Carlos frowned, setting his hand on the cat and saying, "Kevin, unless you want a cat trying to claw you you're going to have to stop making that noise."

Kevin looked to Carlos, saying, "I can't help it, I just make that noise when I'm happy."

"I know, but Khoshekh is about to pounce," Carlos said.

Kevin sighed, "I'll try to stop it," as he rubbed his neck, wondering if he could consciously control it.

"I'll just move him," Carlos sighed, lifting the cat with its meal. Khoshekh made a confused sound, putting a paw on his plate and continuing to eat as Carlos moved him. Carlos carried him to their room, sighing and apologizing before closing the door after himself, trapping Khoshekh inside. Khoshekh immediately made a whining meow, but didn't start pawing at the door until after he was done eating. Kevin was actually listening quite intently to Cecil's show, saying, "It's amazing how alike he does his show to mine!"

"Mhmm," Carlos sighed, heading back to the kitchen for his own snack.

Kevin grinned, making the clicking sound again and asking, "How long has he been the Voice of Night Vale?"

"As long as I can remember," Carlos said.

"Hm, I'd think about the same amount of time I've been the Voice of the Bluffs," Kevin said.

"Probably," Diego agreed.

Kevin chuckled, "Since Diego has heard both shows, maybe he should compare and contrast them to pass the time."

"Maybe we should watch TV or something," Carlos sighed.

"But his show isn't over," Kevin said, taken aback. "Don't you have to listen to the whole thing?"

"We don't _have_ to," Carlos said, "I just like to."

Kevin sighed, "This place baffles me sometimes," as he put his head in his hand.

"Mhmm," he sighed, grabbing dip and chips.

Kevin started humming along with the weather when he got used to the tune, saying, "Huh, usually we play happier songs. This one is sort've a downer."

"It's about petting kittens," Carlos pointed out.

"I know," Kevin said. "Usually we play something upbeat that gets people in the mood for working."

"That's..." Carlos sighed, "ok."

Kevin asked, "By the way, how do you find time for movies over here? Usually people in Desert Bluffs are all having too much fun working for other leisure activities."

"We're more relaxed here," Carlos sighed.

"I noticed, it's weird," Kevin said, glancing out the window.

"Most people here like it," Carlos said.

"I'm sure they do, it just seems a bit unproductive," Kevin sighed, leaning against Diego again.

"We're not totally focused on productivity," Carlos said.

Kevin gasped and clung to Diego's shoulder, asking, "How does anything get _done_?" with astonishment.

"For a couple hours at a time," Carlos said, Diego wrapping his arm around Kevin.

Kevin blinked, whispering, "Madness," and hiding his face in Diego's shoulder.

Carlos sighed, asking, "Do you want a snack?" as Diego pet Kevin's back.

Kevin sat up, mumbling, "Hm, not sure. What do you have?"

"Hummus and wheat-and-wheat-by-product-free chips," Carlos said.

"Why wheat free?" Kevin asked curiously.

"Because wheat rebelled and tried to kill us," Carlos said offering him the hummus.

Kevin sighed, "Night Vale is so strange," as he took a chip regardless. "Thanks," he added.

Carlos nodded, offering Diego one, who took it and some hummus too. Diego frowned, saying, "I don't know, he sounds sort of funny on the radio." Carlos stared at him for a moment, slowly removing the chip from his hand.

Kevin watched the exchange, slowly taking another chip to see if Carlos was going to stop him as well, eating it when it appeared Carlos didn't care. Diego and Carlos stared at each other for a moment, Diego trying to take another chip slowly and Carlos, moving equally slowly, stopping his hand.

Kevin sighed, "Oh dear," under his breath, taking another chip, as they were surprisingly good for being wheat-free. Carlos and Diego continued their staring match, neither moving much besides narrowing their eyes.

Kevin shifted uncomfortably, asking, "Is this really necessary?" They ignored him, continuing to stare without blinking. Nearly five minutes passed, neither of them having moved.

Kevin had finished eating another chip, sighing heavily, "Come on guys, Diego was just giving an opinion," a bit desperately. They continued ignoring him, staring right up until Cecil entered the house.

Cecil paused in hanging his jacket on the hook by the door, looking to the living room and asking, "What did I miss?"

Kevin stood, saying, "Thank the Smiling God you're home. They haven't stopped staring at each other for fifteen minutes!"

Cecil frowned, asking, "Did they buy something from a man in a tan jacket?"

"No," Carlos said slowly, not breaking eye contact.

Cecil walked over, noting the door shut down the hall and figuring Khoshekh was inside, shaking his head and putting a hand on Carlos' shoulder, asking, "What happened?"

"I’m busy right now, hold on," Carlos said, as he and Diego were trying to assert their dominance's over each other.

Kevin sighed, "Diego said your voice sounded funny over the radio."

Cecil bristled at that, asking, "He what?" and now glaring at Diego as well, Kevin facepalming.

Diego glanced to Cecil, Carlos grinning victoriously and hissing a quiet, "Yesss," as Diego mumbled, "Crap."

Kevin sighed, "It's alright Diego," and rubbed his back.

Cecil smirked, a few tentacles wrapping sideways around Carlos as he said, "Congrats, but come on. I'm starving."

"I have hummus," Carlos said, heading over to the table with him.

Cecil said, "Sounds good, but I meant more along the lines of dinner."

"We could order Big Rico's," Carlos said.

"Mmm, let's," Cecil grinned, grabbing a phone. He sighed, "I guess we should order two. What do you two usually eat on pizza?" he asked Diego.

Carlos made a face, saying, "Just get them cheese."

Kevin pouted, "Do they have anything with blood?"

Cecil groaned, "There's the bloody Portobello pizza, but it's a specialty one."

"Is it real blood?" Diego asked.

"That costs extra," Cecil said.

Kevin said, "We could cover the extra cost. What's your currency?"

"...Dollars?" Carlos said.

Kevin sighed, "Darn, scratch that idea. We use teeth."

Carlos blinked, saying, "I don’t think that'd work here."

Kevin said, "Then just get us cheese. I'd hate to cause too much trouble during our stay."

Diego sighed, "Just cheese is fine."

Cecil nodded, dialing in to Big Rico's, placing their order and reporting, "The delivery child should be here in about twenty minutes. Let’s find something to waste time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh how fun it is writing carlos and diego trying to be the alpha scientist X3


	19. Game Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> these poor guys have to get along eventually right?  
> meh, maybe not, more entertaining that way. it will pick up again, i admit this probably looks like filler space but i have to assume it's entertaining because you lovely people are all still here <3 i feel like i can't thank you enough for all the reads/likes/comments!

"Does dinner have to be in the living room?" Carlos sighed.

"That's the spot people usually react best to," Cecil shrugged. "The delivery children like getting orders placed quickly."

"Right," Carlos sighed, going to sit on the couch.

Kevin said, "In the meantime, what should we do?"

Cecil mused, "Well I doubt we could all agree on a movie to watch."

"Do we have any board games?" Carlos asked.

Cecil rubbed his chin, saying, "We've got Adders and Ladders. The board spits real venom, though."

"Sounds great," Diego grinned.

Cecil rolled his eyes, saying, "I'll grab the game; Carlos, grab the anti-vemon," as he walked off.

Carlos headed to the bathroom for the anti-venom, opening their bedroom for Khoshekh too. Khoshekh warbled and hopped off the bed, slipping past Carlos' legs as the cat felt untrustworthy of him right then. Carlos sighed, feeling a bit bad about locking the cat up and bringing the anti-venom bottle back to the living room.

Kevin was bouncing in place, looking forward to the game. He asked Diego, "I wonder if they'd ban this game back home like the other board games..."

"Most likely," Diego sighed, grabbing water for the two of them.

Kevin sighed, "Darn." He whispered, "Can we have a copy made for home anyway?" as they had other banned items in his house.

Diego nodded, patting his back and shrugging, "Why not."

"Yay!" Kevin clapped, Cecil bringing the game in and starting to set it up, flinching back when one of the adders on the board spat at him.

Cecil snapped, "Hey, I know we haven't played in awhile, but wait until one of us draws your card!" to the board. Carlos patted his back, setting the anti-venom on the table. "Right, now, how to play," Cecil said, diving into the rules of the game, consisting of rolling dice, drawing cards, moving your piece, and avoiding adders.

"If you get bitten, don't panic or the venom will spread faster," Carlos added.

Kevin nodded with enthusiasm, Cecil saying, "And try not to startle the board. They spit when they get scared."

"And don't pet them," Carlos added, as Kevin had been reaching for one.

Kevin pouted, "Awh," and retracted his hand, glancing to the pieces and saying, "ohh, can I be sun piece?"

"By all means," Cecil said, waving a hand. Kevin squealed and picked it up with a happy, clicking noise that made Khoshekh peer into the room again. Carlos sighed, Diego taking the piece he normally did, making him glare and take the shoe instead of the flask. Cecil took the eye, saying, "Right, let's start, and remember the pizza will be here soon."

"Hopefully it doesn’t get sludge on the board," Carlos sighed.

"The adders wouldn't like that," Cecil agreed, rolling the dice to see who would go first. Kevin got to go first, Cecil second, Diego third and Carlos forth.

They got through the beginning of the game safely, no one getting bitten or spat at to the snake's dismay. Diego winced at his next roll, realizing it landed him on a snake's stomach.

Cecil said, "Just move your piece carefully, it might be ticklish."

Diego moved his piece very slowly, Carlos resisting the urge to shout suddenly and startle the snake. Kevin hissed in a quiet breath of nervousness, leaning away from the board slightly. Diego let go of the piece slowly, quickly retracting his hand. The adder made a hissing sound but didn't spit, everyone sighing in relief.

By the time the game was over only Cecil had gotten spit at, though Diego had nearly avoided being bitten and Kevin had won the game. Kevin clapped, grinning, "That was fun!" and jumped when a delivery child gurgled at them, randomly appearing in the room. Carlos sighed when none of the goop landed on the board, Diego leaning away from the child.

Cecil said, "Ah, there you are," as he stood, grabbing the money and handing it to the girl, yanking the pizza out of her grip. She hissed at them before disappearing again, releasing more sludge around the room. Cecil flinched, sighing, "The sludge will evaporate eventually," as he set the pizzas on the island counter. Carlos stood, setting the pieces down and going to get plates. Cecil said, "Just uh...lay a towel over the board for now," to Diego over his shoulder. Diego frowned, grabbing a dishtowel and throwing it onto the game board. They heard the board hiss, but it quieted down soon enough. Cecil said, "I'd rather not get bitten as we're trying to eat dinner."

"Me neither," Carlos said, grabbing a slice.

Kevin grabbed a slice, Cecil raising a brow when Kevin opened his mouth widely and bit half triangle off in one go, chewing contently and humming. Carlos sighed, having almost gotten used to the too-large mouth until that point. Cecil shuddered, looking away to continue eating his own slice of pizza as Kevin ate the next half of his slice in one large bite, saying, "This is really good," around the pizza.

"Mhmm," Carlos said, feeling slightly sick, though Diego didn't appeared bothered.

Kevin licked his lips with a long tongue, grabbing another slice. Cecil said, "Y'know what, Kevin, I've had a thought."

"Hm?" Kevin said, opening his mouth and pausing in taking a bite.

Cecil said, "I think, if you eat your pizza in the guest room, I might be able to get you cake when you get back."

"Really?!" Kevin said, bouncing in place. "Oh I love cake!"

"Great," Carlos said, "there's a desk in the guest room." 

Diego sighed, "I'll go with him." Kevin clapped, grabbing an extra slice and bringing the plate of two slices with him to the guest room.

Diego followed him, Carlos sighing, "I hope you actually have cake."

Cecil shook his head, saying, "I don't, but we can make some," as he took a bite of pizza.

"We'd better," Carlos said, "I think he'd be upset."

"He would be, but I could handle him," Cecil said, opening a cabinet and grabbing a box of mix nonetheless.

"Well," Carlos said, grabbing eggs from the fridge.

Cecil grabbed some measuring cups, giving him a look and saying, "Did you grow attached to him during your stay in the Bluffs?"

"Not so much attached," Carlos sighed, "I just don't want to see him upset."

Cecil sighed, "I suppose. His tears might stain the carpet," he smirked.

"Cecil," Carlos reproached, elbowing him gently and starting to scramble the eggs in a bowl. Cecil chuckled, grabbing a spoon and a cake pan for when the batter would be ready. Carlos mixed the batter quickly, handing it off to Cecil and asking, "Do we have frosting?"

"Hm, dunno, otherwise we can make some. Check the cabinet right of the stove," Cecil said.

Carlos looked, saying, "I think I found a can of chocolate frosting and a can of pumpernickel frosting."

Cecil sighed, "Darn, we ran out of cat food frosting for Khoshekh's slice?"

"Yup," Carlos said, grabbing them out of the cabinet.

Cecil said, "Alright, use chocolate. I can't imagine Desert Bluffs would like pumpernickel."

"Chocolate is a good standard," Carlos said, setting the pumpernickel away.

Cecil nodded, pausing and saying, "There's a bed in the guest room. Wonder if they're gonna have dessert," with a grin.

Carlos gave him a look, saying "Cecil!" again

Cecil gave him an innocent look, saying, "Hm, what?" as he finished up the mix. Carlos sighed, spraying the baking sheet with non-stick and handing it over. Cecil poured the batter in, saying, "But really, I wonder how much time we've got."

"He'll forgive us if the cake's still in the oven," Carlos said.

"I think so; he seems like the type who'd love sugar," Cecil mused.

"Very true," Carlos said, opening the oven and popping the cake in.

Cecil said, "Hm, can we whip up some purple frosting for decorations, or do you think they'd refuse to eat something that wasn't orange?"

"We could make it both," Carlos said.

Cecil gasped and flinched back, hissing, "By the Void, Carlos, mixing purple with orange over a chocolate cake? What's gotten into you?"

"Sorry, nevermind," he sighed, not even getting into the details of why that was obscene. "We could leave it without decoration."

Cecil sighed, "I suppose so, but that just seems so boring."

"Well, it's neutral," Carlos said, starting to clean the bowl.

Cecil sighed, "I guess," as he started licking the batter off the spoon they had stirred the mix with.

"Your tentacles are getting into the frosting," Carlos said.

"Are they?" Cecil said, turning to see that they were in fact opening the frosting and trying to scoop some out.

"Yes," Carlos said, filling the bowl with soapy water.

Cecil hummed, "Hm, could you clean that off for me?" with a grin, leaning against the counter opposite where his tentacles were and continued licking the batter off the spoon. Carlos rolled his eyes, grabbing a damp sponge and grabbing the tentacle that had managed to get into the frosting, pulling it out of the frosting and wiping the frosting container, setting it aside before licking the tentacle. Cecil shut his eyes and hummed, purring softly and saying, "Thanks," with a grin, glad Kevin and Diego hadn't been around to see that.

Carlos smirked, sucking the tentacle into his mouth briefly to finish cleaning it before saying, "Keep them out of the frosting."

Cecil hummed again, saying, "I don't know, I can try, but your cleaning methods make it difficult for me to want to stop them," he opened his eyes and smirked.

"You'd better, or there'll be none leftover for the cake," Carlos said, nipping the tentacle lightly before letting it go.

Cecil had to cover a small groan with a cough, leaning up from the counter and saying, "Fine, fine," as he retracted them into tattoos, setting the cleaned off spoon in the sink. Carlos smirked, leaning up to kiss Cecil's cheek before starting to clean the spoon. Cecil grinned, asking, "Should I call our guests back?" as he crossed his arms, in a much better mood.

"Let them be as long as Kevin's quiet," Carlos sighed, rinsing out the bowl.

Cecil shrugged, "Good point. I think Kevin's probably waiting for Diego to finish his pizza, at this rate," as he resisted making a different comment.

"Mhmm," Carlos sighed, rinsing the rest of the dishes and setting them on the drying rack.

Cecil grabbed another slice of pizza and started eating it, mumbling, "Wonder how long they'll have to stay?"

"Probably a few days," Carlos sighed.

Cecil groaned, "Oh great," as he took another bite, licking some grease off his cheek.

"We can deal with it," Carlos said.

"Maybe for the night, but I just can't trust either of them," Cecil said softly. "I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to sleep in the same house."

"I'll be fine," Carlos sighed, "I survived in desert bluffs."

"Which I'm still impressed and relieved by," Cecil sighed, walking over to wrap an arm around him.

"I was fine," Carlos sighed.

"I know, you're a scientist, you're always fine," Cecil chuckled.

"That's right," Carlos chuckled, patting his back. Cecil purred again, resting his head on the scientist's as a tentacle curled around his back. Carlos grinned, setting a timer for the cake and sitting at the table to finish his food.

Cecil sat down by him, asking, "Do you think they'll want to play another round of Adders and Ladders?"

"Kevin probably will," Carlos said.

Cecil grumbled, "Only because he won," with a pout, as he had been a close second place.

"I know," Carlos said, "maybe we can get them reading."

Cecil said, "I don't know if Kevin is the reading type."

"Well..." Carlos sighed, "we could try to find a movie?"

Cecil rubbed his neck, saying, "Might as well; I don't know how else to entertain them."

"Neither do I, to be honest," Carlos said.

Cecil snorted, saying quietly, "We could just lock the door to the guest room," with a smirk.

"That wouldn't end well," Carlos said.

Cecil said, "I know, it's unfortunate," as he put an elbow on the table and rested his chin on his hand.

"We could play cards?" Carlos suggested.

"Sure, if Diego knows how," Cecil rolled his eyes. "He seems like he'd spend too much time working to know how to play many games, but we could ask about the movie first and use cards as a last resort."

"That works," Carlos said, finishing his pizza. Cecil nodded, standing to put the remains of one pizza into the box with the other, shoving the empty box down the recycling chute and leaning back when there was a burst of heat from the fire-breathing raccoons that took care of their recyclables. "I'd prefer to wait as long as possible before they came out," Carlos said.

Cecil said, "Me too, but I doubt it'll take too much longer. Want to move to the couch?"

"Sure," Carlos sighed, clearing his plate to the sink. Cecil stuck the rest of the pizza in the fridge and walked to the living room, carefully avoiding the board game with the towel still over it. Carlos settled on the couch next to him, saying "I never thought I'd hope the planes would get together more quickly."

Cecil chuckled, "Believe me, I know. If I end up having to co-host a show with Kevin I might eat throat spiders so I won't have to go into work."

"Oh, don't do that," Carlos said, nuzzling his face into Cecil's neck, "I like your voice."

Cecil tilted his head, saying, "I do too, but it might be worth it to avoid working with him. If I gave him the throat spiders he'd probably pretend he's fine and insist on working, anyway."

"Nobody's getting throat spiders," Carlos sighed.

Cecil groaned, "Alright," as a tentacle replaced itself around Carlos' side. "But if our planes mesh, you know I'm not letting them stay here forever?"

"Of course," Carlos said, "I wouldn't be able to deal with that, either."

Cecil chuckled, "I'm sure Kevin will insist on visiting a lot, anyway."

"Of course," Carlos sighed, "of course he would."

"Mmhm," Cecil mumbled, sounding just as thrilled as Carlos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still working on getting my co-author to agree to a potential smexy scene. for now, we gave you a.......taste :D   
> *is shot*


	20. Wasting Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow i just realized how it must seem like we're dragging this out. i don't know it's fun to write but i also want to make sure we're not boring you all XD hang in there, the exciting stuff is coming back

By the time two days had passed Carlos was only forcing himself to stay in the house to comfort Cecil, who he was fairly sure was going absolutely insane having to deal with Kevin.

Cecil currently was sitting at the kitchen table, face down on the wooden surface as Kevin stood across the room jabbering on, something about the squirrels in Night Vale being so polite in stealing food from one another. Cecil had been upset when Carlos let slip about the librarians being dangerous, as that was where he had wanted to send Kevin the most. Carlos was rubbing Cecil's back, Diego reading unbothered in the living room. Cecil slowly hooked his hands over his head, half blocking his ears and mumbling, "Make it stop," as he didn't want to leave Carlos alone with them unless he was forced to for work, which was now his favorite part of the day due to being away from Kevin.

"Kevin?" Carlos said, "want to watch a movie?"

Kevin interrupted his own story, chirping, "Ooh, what movie? Does it have ghosts?"

"Sure, it can have ghosts," Carlos sighed, "we have ghost busters."

Cecil said, "I heard that movie was sad because the ghosts kept getting bullied by the four main characters."

"The one person who agrees," Cecil grumbled.

"It's still about ghosts," Carlos said, "want to watch it?"

"Sure," Kevin said, "can we make popcorn, too?"

"Yes," Carlos groaned, Diego saying, "I'll make it."

Kevin squealed in delight, hugging Diego before hopping over to plop onto the couch. "Who else is gonna watch?" 

"Not me," Cecil mumbled.

"Cecil and I are probably going to go take a nap," Carlos said.

"That sounds nice," Cecil's muffled voice replied.

Kevin shrugged, saying, "Alright, have a wonderful nap!" happily.

"Great," Carlos sighed, tugging Cecil to his feet and dragging him towards the bedroom.

Cecil said, "I don't know if I can take much more of this," when their door was shut, being steered to sit on the bed, only he faceplanted onto it.

"It's almost over," Carlos sighed, flopping down next to him.

"You don't know that," Cecil groaned. "Erika said it could take days, not specified."

"You can do this," Carlos said, letting an arm fall over Cecil.

"I don't think I can," Cecil said. "He's lucky I haven't strangled him in his sleep."

"Calm down," Carlos sighed, rubbing his back.

Cecil groaned again but purred nonetheless, saying, "We should take a vacation when this is over."

"Of course," Carlos grinned, kissing his cheek, "anywhere you like."

"I've heard Cyclopes Springs is nice," Cecil said, turning his head to not be face-down on the mattress.

"Sure," Carlos said, kissing his cheek again

Cecil grinned, scooting to cuddle against Carlos and sighing, "Good thing we've got an hour of silence. Good idea about the movie."

"I'm just glad it worked," he sighed, wrapping his arm around him.

"So am I," Cecil said, purring and wrapping some tentacles around Carlos in return.

Carlos sighed, tucking his head under Cecil's chin. "It had better be a long vacation."

"I think I've earned up about a week's worth," Cecil said, his tentacles moving to rub Carlos' back.

"Definitely," Carlos said, running a hand over Cecil's chest.

Cecil purred more, a tentacle sliding under Carlos' shirt to rub the skin on his back, mumbling, "Might be best to wait until those two are out of the house, you know."

"I know," Carlos groaned, sliding a foot in between Cecil’s.

Cecil gave him a small smile, touching his forehead to Carlos' and saying, "The day can't come soon enough."

"Tell me about it," he chuckled, kissing the tip of his nose. Cecil's grin widened at Carlos' antics, growling playfully and shoving himself up and rolling to be over Carlos, giving him a kiss. Carlos grinned, saying, "Hello there," and leaning up to kiss him again.

"Hi," Cecil smirked when they parted, "what brings you here?"

"New room mates are driving me insane," Carlos chuckled, kissing his jaw.

"You too, huh?" Cecil said, tilting his head. "Maybe you and I can room together instead. I've been told I make good company," he smirked as he walked his fingertips up Carlos' side to his chest.

"I might have to take you up on that offer," Carlos grinned, brushing some of Cecil's hair out of his face.

Cecil snorted, "I must warn you though, I've got a few friends who can get a bit playful," as his tentacles made a show of uncurling themselves and brushing Carlos' skin.

"Oh, I’ve definitely learned about them," Carlos grinned, rolling one between his fingers.

"Have you?" Cecil asked, setting his chin on his hand, elbow gently resting on Carlos' chest.

"I have to say I have," Carlos grinned, running a hand down Cecil's side.

Cecil hummed, saying, "Glad I don't have to explain them again. Usually people get a little freaked out by them."

"Then they're missing out," Carlos grinned, pulling him down to kiss him.

Cecil smiled, kissing him back and mumbling, "I'm sure," before continuing the kiss, unwinding due to whatever therapy Carlos was or wasn't intentionally using. Carlos ran a hand over Cecil's back and shifted one of his legs between the other's. Cecil's tentacles started spreading out, curling gently around Carlos' upper arm in one spot and behind his back and neck in others, Cecil wanting nothing more than to envelope him forever, as it'd be better than dealing with the two men in their living room.

Diego and Kevin ended up falling asleep on the couch together when Carlos and Cecil's 'nap' went a bit long. Therefore Carlos didn't have to think about them until the next morning, waking up to smelling pancakes. Cecil was still asleep next to him, arm around Carlos' side along with a tangle of tentacles. Carlos grinned, scooting back into him slightly and shutting his eyes again, enjoying the quiet for the moment.

The quiet didn't last long when Khoshekh made a loud hissing sound, followed by Kevin whining, "Come on, kitty, I just want to pet you!" and the sound of the cat running down the hall, presumably into the guest room to hide under the bed, as Cecil's door was shut. Cecil still didn't wake up, being a bit behind on sleep of late. Carlos sighed, wiggling carefully out of his grasp and quickly replacing himself with a pillow, as Cecil's tentacles had already started to miss his presence. He then kissed Cecil's cheek, letting him sleep and throwing on a change of clothes before heading out of their room.

Kevin was taking his turn to sit face-down at the table, depressed apparently that Khoshekh still wouldn't allow Kevin to get within ten feet of him. Carlos sighed, Diego making pancakes and resisting the urge to glare at him. "He only doesn't like you because you're Cecil’s opposite," Carlos said.

Kevin looked up, saying, "That's alright, we've got Buster waiting for us back home. Good morning!" he added in a voice so cheerful that he could probably have cured even the most downhearted person in the city.

"Morning," Carlos said, wondering if it were possible to ask him to be a little less alarmingly pleasant.

"Diego took it upon himself to make breakfast," Kevin grinned. "He won't let me near the batter, though. I only wanted to make shaped pancakes," he pouted.

"It's too much of a mess, love," Diego sighed, Carlos raising a brow at him.

"Maybe our hosts would've enjoyed knife-shaped pancakes," Kevin countered, brushing off the pet name and Carlos' expression.

"Uh," Carlos said, "no, regular pancakes are fine."

Kevin mumbled something about them being fun-suckers and went back to using an insect leg to try and snitch syrup from the bottle. Carlos scooted the bottle out of his reach, interested to note it was both a quality of Cecil and Kevin. "Argh," Kevin grumbled, drawing the leg back into a tattoo. "Is Cecil not up yet?" he asked.

"No," Carlos said, "and please don't wake him."

"Why, he's not a morning type?" Diego asked, Carlos glaring at him although it wasn't necessarily an insult.

Kevin chuckled, "Diego, I'm the morning type. If Cecil's my opposite, then I should think he's much more of a night owl."

"He is," Carlos said, standing again to prepare coffee.

"And I thought you were the sciencey, smart one around here," Kevin smirked at Diego. Diego gave him an only slightly irritated look, Carlos pouring coffee for himself and setting one aside for Cecil, as he wanted him to get as much rest as he could. Kevin said, "Ooh, can I have some?" in reference to the coffee, hoping Diego wouldn't stop Carlos.

"It's a bad idea," Diego said, Carlos not having been about to give him coffee anyways.

Kevin said, "Darn it," under his breath, crossing his arms on the table to set his head on.

"We both know what it does to you," Diego said, flipping the pancakes.

Kevin frowned, "Yeah, but you never seem to think it's a bad thing," as he looked over.

Carlos raised a brow, Diego coughing and saying, "Not... right now."

Kevin sighed, "I know, you gave me the talk yesterday," with a pout, twirling a fork between the 'fingers' on his insect leg.

Carlos cleared his throat, "Does anyone want juice?"

Kevin sat up, saying, "Alright, since I can't have coffee," with a half-smile, staying positive as always. Carlos poured him apple juice, sliding it across the table and getting out the bacon. "Thank you," Kevin chirped, taking a sip. "How long do you think Cecil will be out?"

"A while, and he needs the sleep," Carlos said.

Kevin said, "I wasn't going to wake him, that'd be rude!"

"And he wouldn’t be very happy," Carlos said, "we'll just be quiet for a bit."

"Alright," Kevin said, taking another drink and making the clicking noise in content, liking the sweet taste.

It was nearly an hour before Carlos headed back to Cecil and his room, bringing a spare mug of coffee with him. Cecil was still out cold, the pillow he was hugging looking more like it was being strangled by tentacles. Carlos sighed, setting the coffee on the side table and grabbing a book, sitting next to him.

It only took about half an hour before Cecil shifted, making a confused sound as he was holding a pillow and not Carlos. Carlos chuckled, saying "sorry, had to check on the guests," as he patted Cecil's back.

Cecil made a sound of understanding, not in the mood for talking and shifting to cuddle against Carlos' side. Carlos smiled, shifting over and moving the pillow to let him curl up again, rubbing his back. Cecil purred softly, mumbling, "Do I hafta getup?"

"Not yet," Carlos said, "but I brought coffee."

"Thanks," Cecil said tiredly, sitting up with a case of bed-head and using a tentacle to pick up and hold his coffee, as his tentacles were always more steady than his hands in the morning. Carlos grinned, kissing his cheek and running his hand through Cecil's hair. Cecil was still too much in just-woken-up mode to bother Carlos about petting his hair, taking a drink of coffee and sniffing, "Do I smell pancakes and bacon?"

"Diego's cooking," Carlos sighed, wrapping an arm behind his back.

"Blegh," Cecil grumbled, "nevermind," he sipped more coffee but leaned into Carlos.

"We'll see how it turns out," Carlos sighed, rubbing his side.

Cecil purred and said, "I suppose, but I might make eggs or something for myself. Who knows what they cook with?"

"I know the bacon is regular bacon," Carlos offered.

"That's a plus, I guess," Cecil chuckled, taking a larger drink.

"And Kevin wasn't allowed to help with the pancakes," Carlos added.

"A major plus," Cecil grinned, a few tired tentacles slowly wrapping around Carlos.

Carlos grinned back, combing the last of Cecil's hair into relative order and saying, "You can stay in here a bit longer."

"I hadn't been planning on moving," Cecil said, turning his head to grin at his boyfriend.

Carlos smiled, "Maybe it'll be another lazy day. I wonder how Kevin would deal with that."

Cecil grinned widely, "I think we'd finally have some payback for being so insufferable the past few days."

"I wish," Carlos sighed, "maybe he'd calm down to a decent level."

Cecil said, "Well, I wouldn't get too hopeful," as he took a drink and set the coffee aside.

"Maybe," Carlos grinned, tilting Cecil's chin to kiss him.

Cecil hummed, kissing him back and biting his lip gently, mumbling, "I'd rather not get let down about a potential day off from him."

"You're right, I suppose," Carlos said, rubbing his back, "shall we?"

Cecil groaned, "Alright, fine," grabbing the drink and standing slowly, stretching his arms up as a tentacle held his coffee, making a very tall, thin pillar of a form. Carlos grinned, unable to resist and standing as well to tickle Cecil's sides. Cecil snorted in laughter, bending over and taking a long side-step to evade Carlos' hands and saying, "Stop it!" unthreateningly.

Carlos chuckled, "Make me," as he followed Cecil.

Cecil raised a brow, asking, "Are you really challenging me?" as he manifested some extra tentacles to exaggerate.

"Are you really wearing bunny slippers?" Carlos shot back, raising a brow and grinning.

"Of course I am, they discourage the carnivorous rugs in the bathroom," Cecil said. "At least let me put pants on before starting a tickling contest."

"I'll give you a minute," Carlos conceded, stepping back.

Cecil nodded, stepping over to his dresser and rifling through them, deciding on a pair of black jeans with a silver sequined stripe on either side of both legs. He pulled on some boxers, then the pants, saying, "Huh, haven't worn these in awhile."

"I haven't seen them before," Carlos said, putting a comb through his hair while he thought of it.

Cecil chuckled, "Dear Carlos, you haven't seen the half of my outfits. Some of them you may never be allowed to see," he added on an afterthought.

"Why not?" Carlos asked, raising a brow and grinning.

"No reason," Cecil said, rubbing his neck and sighing, "do I have to wear a shirt for the tickle competition? It just feels like a no-shirt day," he put his hands on his hips.

"I'm never going to force you into a shirt," Carlos chuckled, "you might want one later, though."

Cecil asked, "What for? Think Kevin or Diego might get sick?"

"No, just... oh never mind," Carlos sighed.

Cecil smirked, saying, "Alright," and immediately lashing a tentacle out to poke Carlos' stomach.

Carlos snorted, saying, "Oh, it's on," as he lunged forwards.

Diego glanced up from his breakfast, having heard several thumps from Carlos and Cecil's room and a war cry that sounded like, "For science!"

"That's not an excuse!" Cecil's voice replied, Kevin glancing over and saying, "Uhm...should we check on them?"

"I don't really want to," Diego said, refocusing on his meal.

Kevin shrugged, "Alright," and went back to eating his own pancakes whole, opening his mouth wide and dropping them in one by one. Diego rolled his eyes, hearing several more thumps and clatter, hoping they weren't making too much of a mess. Kevin flinched on one particularly loud thump, followed by an, "Aha!" from Cecil. Kevin chuckled, "Well, sounds like they're having fun at any rate."


	21. Last Minute Accidents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah yes finally picking the pace back up, slowly but surely. for the record, we're trying to shoot for being done with the real story in 24 chapters, and then having the bonus chapter be number 25. just so no one is caught off guard when it ends soon *single tear* hopefully after we finish this one we'll start some other fic, that being NV again or maybe Sherlock or a Bucky/Steve fic. we'll see; let us know what you'd like to read, otherwise. we're open to ideas :D

One of the only ways they hadn’t wasted time yet was with a walk, so they all agreed the next day to try it out and give Kevin and Diego a better look around Night Vale. Unfortunately, one of the buildings they passed was the dreaded library. Before they knew it, they were stuck in an intense argument outside of the building, Diego and Carlos gesticulating wildly as they spoke, Cecil between Diego and the library door and both waving their arms around trying to get their points across.

"We told you, you can't go in there!" Cecil said, using tentacles to not only block the door but hold Diego back.

"Well, Kevin's in there, thanks a lot, and i have to go get him," Diego said, undaunted.

"We didn't tell him to go in there!" Cecil countered. "I specifically said _not_ to go in the library under any circumstance, but _he_ went and got curious!"

"And now I have to go _get him_ ," Diego said, Carlos saying, "That's suicide."

Cecil said, "Look, I'm sorry for your loss, but really, if you go in there you'll just be another loss to the cruelty of the librarians."

"I went in there once, I barely survived," Carlos said, Diego saying "I can **handle it**."

Cecil said, "You really can't," getting irritated at Diego's persistence.

"They will _maul you_ ," Carlos said, glad Cecil hadn't pushed why he'd been in there.

After another minute of struggling, Cecil froze, swinging around when he heard the library door opening, expecting to have to hold off an angry librarian. He blinked when it was Kevin, standing there grinning but bleeding from various scratches across his arms and side. He chirped, "What a lovely place! I can't imagine why you stop people from going in there! I even rented a book!" he said, holding up a blue-backed novel. Carlos stared at him as well, Diego more concerned with Kevin's injuries. Kevin's smile faltered, glancing around between them and asking, "What's the matter?"

"You're hurt," Diego said, at the same time Carlos said, "You're still alive?"

Kevin said, "Yeah, the librarians seems happy to help me. I mean, they backed away from me at first but when I asked about their books they got so excited! I think one of them tried to hug me and accidentally used more claws than necessary," he mused.

"Right," Carlos said, still staring at him as Diego started forwards, Cecil's tentacles having gone slack.

Kevin said, "Anyway, if we're gonna be stuck here for a few more days I'll have to visit the library again!" with a wide smile, practically bouncing.   
Cecil snapped out of it, grumbling, "The one thing they _can't_ kill, of course they can't..." to himself in exasperation, turning and walking away. Carlos sighed, chasing after him as Diego checked over Kevin's injuries.

Kevin said, "Ooh, they even had a huge section on science books. I think you'd really like it in there, Diego. Strex should make a library like it!" completely unfazed by his various wounds.

"That's great, Kevin," he sighed, taking his hand and leading him back to the house to get him cleaned up.

"I think the librarians liked my tattoos, too. Their eyes went so wide with wonder, you should've seen it!" he chuckled.

"I believe you," Diego said, patting his hand.

The walk back to Cecil's took about fifteen minutes, Cecil and Carlos getting home first and already sitting down to smoothies, as Carlos wasn't allowing Cecil near the alcohol. Diego walked past them to grab antiseptics and gauze, making Kevin sit on one of the island bar stools.

Kevin was rocking back and forth, humming to himself and asking, "Ooh, do you have extra smoothie mix?" as Cecil glared at him and slowly dragged his own smoothie closer to himself.

"Yes," Carlos sighed, standing to make another two smoothies as Diego started dabbing at Kevin's cuts.

Kevin winced, hissing in a breath and saying, "It stings," with a pout.

"I know, it's to make sure you don't get an infection," Diego sighed.

Cecil said, "You should count yourself lucky to be alive," before taking a sip of his drink. 

Kevin said, "I'm always happy to be alive, every single day!" he cooed.

"I know, Cecil was just checking," Carlos sighed, mixing up a banana-and-strawberry smoothie.

"And itching to send him back to the library," Cecil grumbled.

Kevin said, "Gladly!" with a huge smile that made Cecil's head thump to the table.

"It's ok, Cecil," Carlos said, handing the two non-nightvaliens smoothies.

Kevin said, "Thank you," and took a sip, humming in thought and grinning again, using a tattoo to reopen one of the cuts on his arm and drip some blood into his smoothie, stirring it in with the straw.

Carlos stared at him, Diego simply tutting and saying, "That won't help you heal," as he wrapped a bandage over it.

"But my smoothie tastes better!" Kevin said as he continued drinking.

Cecil mumbled, "I'm so glad I didn't see whatever just happened."

"But you need it in your veins more," Diego said, patting his shoulder and starting his own smoothie.

Cecil said, "Definitely glad," with his face still down. Kevin kicked his legs a bit while he drank, back to humming to himself.

"Do you... want to... never mind," Carlos said, starting to run out of things to distract them with.

Kevin licked his lips, saying, "We could visit Josie again and see if Erika has made any progress?"

"Sure," Carlos sighed, "sure, that works."

Cecil sat up, saying, "I won't be able to go, by the time we get there I'll have my show to host in a manner of minutes."

"I'll take them," Carlos sighed.

Cecil said, "You're a Voidsend," as he stood, moving to kiss Carlos' cheek.

Carlos grinned, giving him a hug and saying, "Have a safe trip."

Cecil said, "I will. Keep Kevin out of the library," he bopped Carlos' nose with a finger.

"I'll do my best," Carlos chuckled, following him towards the doorway.

Kevin whined, "Awww, come on! Why is all the fun stuff here banned?"

Cecil ignored him, saying, "Oh, and remember to feed Khoshekh if you haven't. I think he's been hiding from Mr. Smiles," he mumbled.

"Ohh, is that a new nickname for me?!" Kevin asked with excitement, leaning in his chair to see Cecil.

"No, it's for the Faceless Old Woman," Cecil countered.

Kevin frowned, saying, "Then wouldn't it be Ms. Smiles?"

Cecil looked to Carlos, saying, "You can stab me any time now," as guns didn't work.

"I'm not going to stab you, I still need you," Carlos chuckled, leaning up to kiss his cheek again, "go to work."

Cecil said, "Then stab _him_ ; you're a scientist, I know you use sharp instruments."

"Go to work," Carlos sighed, pushing him gently out the door.

"Alright, alright," Cecil waved behind himself, getting in the car and pulling out to the street.

Carlos re-entered the kitchen, just in time to see Diego kissing Kevin. Kevin was setting his smoothie aside with one hand, the other on Diego's chest as his tattoos folded out, two of them tucking behind Diego and two others bracing him against the island. Carlos turned back around abruptly, going instead to sit on the front porch for a bit. Kevin glanced over when he heard the door, keeping his insect legs where they were and saying, "Hm, I think we just scared Carlos off."

"What a shame," Diego said, leaning in for another kiss. Kevin clicked, smiling and tightening his tattoos' grip behind the scientist, sliding the hand on Diego's chest to his shoulder.

Carlos ended up taking a mid-morning nap on the couch on the front porch, carefully within the house's protective boundaries.

Cecil arrived at home about forty minutes later, pulling into the driveway and about to enter the garage before he noticed Carlos on the porch. He frowned, parking the car and walking up the steps, asking, "Carlos?" softly, as he appeared to be sleeping. Carlos's only response was to snore softly, his lab coat half flopped over the side of the couch. Cecil grinned, using tentacles to slowly lift Carlos' head and shoulders, slipping to sit down and settling Carlos on his lap, figuring he had a reason for staying outside and not wanting to test otherwise.

Carlos only woke up again after another twenty minutes, inhaling and mumbling tiredly. "Good morning, again," Cecil said, carding a hand through Carlos' hair and smiling at the perfection of it as usual.

"Morning," Carlos said, "don't go in there."

"I figured there was a reason for that. Chemical spill?" Cecil guessed.

"No, they're probably doing... things," Carlos said.

Cecil blinked, groaning, "Damn it, not in my house," as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Sorry," Carlos mumbled, patting his knee.

Cecil said, "Wait, you left Khoshekh inside, didn't you? Poor cat..."

"I'm sure he's far under your bed," Carlos sighed, "he'll be ok."

Cecil sighed, carding his hand through Carlos' hair again and saying, "I'm going to make them thoroughly clean up after themselves."

"I'm sure you will," Carlos said, nuzzling Cecil's stomach.

Cecil chuckled, "I thought the tickle war was over," as his stomach muscles tensed.

"So did I," Carlos grinned, sitting up.

Cecil sighed, "Really? A tickle war on the front porch?"

"I thought you said it was over," Carlos said innocently.

"You nuzzled my stomach, you _know_ that's a ticklish spot," Cecil countered.

"All of you is a ticklish spot," Carlos sighed.

Cecil grumbled, "I know, it's unfortunate for tickle wars," with a grin.

Carlos grinned, resting his head on Cecil's shoulder and saying, "I have to say you're right."

Cecil said, "You only agree because it lets you win more often," as he rested his head on Carlos', curling tentacles around him.

"Of course," Carlos chuckled, playing with a tentacle that had wandered into his hands. The tentacle curled up happily, curling between his fingers and slipping back out to wrap around his thumb. Carlos grinned, "I’m sure they'll be leaving soon."

"I truly hope so," Cecil said. "I also hope there's still a warrant for their arrest on their plane."

"Be nice," Carlos sighed, nudging him.

"It's hard to be nice when Kevin is sucking up all the joy in life for himself," Cecil said.

"That's an interesting way to put it," Carlos sighed, "just hold out a bit longer."

"You know he is," Cecil said, kissing Carlos' head. "And I'll try, for your sake."

"Thank you," Carlos chuckled, wrapping an arm behind him.


	22. The Dog Park

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so it begins, we're nearing the end of this fic T_T but i hope you enjoy the more action-packed ending chapters as contrasted to the somewhat slow last few chapters. and this one in particular had to be a bit longer, which i'm sure you'll read about shortly. enjoy, and as always, let us know what you think!

By the time they were entering the fifth day of waiting, Cecil had given up trying to stay awake most nights when Kevin and Diego went to sleep. He fell asleep the night before with Carlos, the scientist using Cecil's shoulder as a pillow. He woke up to Kevin whistling from the other room. He yawned and stretched, the arm not pinned around Carlos moving up to rub his eye. He waited to see if Carlos was going to wake up to him moving, and when it was clear he wasn't, Cecil carefully put Carlos on a pillow and slipped out of bed to go to the bathroom. He was about to exit when he could've sworn he heard something coming from behind the cover over his mirror. He blinked, making to exit the bathroom again before the same sound made him pause. His hands tightened into fists briefly and relaxed, knowing he in no way should lift the cover, but intrigued because he had never heard sounds from mirrors before. He carefully lifted a corner of the cover, yelping in surprise and immediately backing away when he saw a completely black eye staring back at him in his reflection.

Carlos woke up immediately, looking around in confusion and saying, "Cecil?" as he stood.

Cecil left the bathroom in a hurry, saying, "Here, I'm...sort've fine," as he sat back on the bed.

"What?" Carlos asked, wide awake and taking a curious step towards the bathroom.

"Whoa, I wouldn't do that," Cecil said, using a tentacle to grab Carlos' wrist. "It was my fault, I just sort've...heard the mirror saying things and..." he glanced to the bathroom door as though his reflection might follow him out at any time.

"And?" Carlos asked, now more curious to investigate.

Cecil frowned, saying, "I saw Kevin in my reflection, but I know he's still in the house."

"You sure you weren't seeing things?" Carlos asked.

Cecil gave him a look, saying, "The eye looking back at me was solid black. Pretty sure I wasn't seeing things."

"Can we go double-check?" Carlos asked. "You’ve been really stressed out recently".

Cecil groaned, "I know you're a scientist, but it just seems like a bad idea."

"We've got to be sure," Carlos said, offering his hand.

Cecil frowned but took Carlos' hand and stood, mumbling, "I don't like this," as they neared the bathroom.

"It's alright," Carlos said, "it's important we find out." He lifted half of the canvas covering the mirror.

Cecil frowned, taking a step back and hiding half behind Carlos as, once again, Kevin and Diego were reflected in the mirror, only the Kevin reflection was smiling widely. Carlos wrapped an arm around Cecil and frowned in thought, able to still hear Kevin whistling in the kitchen despite what the mirror told them. He was still studying the reflection when 'Diego' grinned suddenly at him and he dropped the covering over it. Cecil hugged Carlos when it was covered, mumbling, "Don't lift it again."

"I'm not going to," he said patting Cecil's shoulder, "but I don't like what that means."

"It means the planes have to be close by now," Cecil said. "We should consider telling Josie."

"We definitely should," Carlos said, still patting his shoulder.

"Let's get out of the bathroom, at least," Cecil suggested.

"Yeah," Carlos said, releasing him and heading into the bedroom.

Cecil sighed in relief once they were away from the mirror, sighing, "Wonder if Diego's making breakfast again?"

"Probably," Carlos sighed, "we should make sure nothing's going on."

Cecil nodded, saying, "Or make those two check the mirror," as they left the room.

"That would be a good test," Carlos said, holding Cecil's hand as they walked.

The first thing Cecil noted when they entered the kitchen was that the smallest angel was perched on their island, warbling to Diego. The second thing he noticed was the sound of footsteps running toward him, and finally the third thing he felt were...lips. On a very wide mouth. Touching his own. He blinked, Kevin hopping up and down when he pulled back, squealing, "Erika says we can report to Josie's! The planes are in a good position!"

Carlos blinked, saying, "Oh, that's great," and glancing worriedly at Cecil.

Cecil's eyes seemed a bit unfocused, raising a hand with a finger lifted in thought, at length saying, "I'm going to go brush my teeth thoroughly, maybe throw up a little, and when I come back I have a gift for you, Kev," before he turned back towards the bathroom he had originally been trying to avoid.

Carlos sighed, after a hesitation deciding not to follow him and saying, "Right, well."

Kevin clapped, "What do you think his gift is? Oh I don't care, I'm sure it's wonderful! We might get to go home today!" he cheered, running back to Diego and kissing his cheek.

Diego grinned, giving Kevin a hug as Carlos said, "Yeah one minute I’m going to check on Cecil."

Kevin said, "Alright, have fun!" as he snuggled his head under Diego's chin.

Carlos headed to the bathroom, hearing water running and asking, "You alright?"

"After what just happened is that a real question?" Cecil replied, gargling with mouthwash a moment later. Carlos sighed, standing next to him and patting his back. Cecil used a second round of mouthwash, gargling and spitting it out, wiping his mouth off and returning to brushing his teeth. "I've never been happier to hear the planes are practically collided."

"He was just excited," Carlos sighed.

"That's no excuse," Cecil growled, rinsing his toothbrush off and mumbling, "I still feel nauseous."

"Should I kiss you to make you feel better?" Carlos asked.

"Void no, I don't want you getting infected by Kevin spit," Cecil said, "though I'll take you up on the offer when we're sure it's gone."

"How many times have you brushed your teeth?" Carlos sighed.

"I've only been in here for three minutes, that means not enough times," Cecil said.

"Well, we should be leaving in five," Carlos said.

Cecil groaned, "I feel like I should get a rabies injection," as he spit in the sink a few times.

"He doesn't have rabies," Carlos sighed, patting his back.

"Not to get rid of them, I want to contract them so the foam can help rinse my mouth clean," Cecil said with an implied 'duuhh'.

Carlos chuckled, saying, "Cecil, you're fine," as he tugged him up to kiss him.

Cecil kissed him back a moment, sighing, "Alright, fine, I've still got something to give him anyway," he growled.

"Ok what are you giving him?" Carlos frowned.

"I'm introducing my hand to his nose," Cecil said, stepping around Carlos.

"No," Carlos said, grabbing Cecil's arm, "no, no, no, you're not doing that."

"He's lucky I didn't do it first," Cecil said, knowing he'd be able to pull away but stopping anyway. "He'd probably think I was proposing to him or something with the way polite gestures go in the Bluffs."

"Really, just... he was just excited," Carlos sighed, "and Diego won't take kindly to it."

Cecil snorted, "Because Diego is threatening," as his shoulders remained a bit tense, tattoos writhing.

"You're not allowed to punch Kevin," Carlos sighed, "he's just Kevin, he doesn't mean to annoy you."

Cecil groaned, sounding conflicted about following what he really wanted to do and what his boyfriend was advising him. "But now he's expecting a gift," Cecil pointed out.

"Give him toothpaste or something," Carlos snorted.

"I don't want to waste our toothpaste on him," Cecil pouted.

"Then think of something else," Carlos sighed.

"It can't involve bodily harm?" Cecil asked to clarify.

"That doesn't involve bodily harm," Carlos confirmed.

Cecil rolled his eyes and sighed, "Fine," with a huff, thinking and saying, "I've got it," as he started leaving the bathroom again.

"What is it?" Carlos asked, wanting to be sure before allowing it.

"I'll let him pet Khoshekh, if we can find him," Cecil said, searching under their bed and not seeing the cat.

"Isn't that kind of bodily harm?" Carlos sighed.

"Only if Khoshekh doesn't agree to being pet, or if Kevin is stupid enough to poke himself on Khoshekh's spines," Cecil said. "If I can't use that either, then I'll just pat his shoulder or something."

"You can find Khoshekh," Carlos sighed, rubbing his back.

Cecil said, "Alright then, help me look," as he checked the guest room next, guessing Khoshekh wouldn't be there as it had Kevin's scent in it.

Carlos nodded, searching around a bit and saying, "Cece, he's on the windowsill."

Cecil glared at Carlos, saying, "Don't let them catch you calling me that, but good eye," as Khoshekh's tail was hanging over the edge of the sill from behind the curtain, giving away his position.

Carlos smiled, saying, "Not a word. Come on, he likes you more lately."

"He usually does," Cecil chuckled, making a clicking sound with his tongue that usually signified a treat to the cat. Khoshekh's tail twitched, Cecil cooing, "Khoshekh, c'mere boy, I have a quick favor to ask," as he carefully moved the curtain, the cat tilting his head at Cecil with his eyes wide and ears perked forward. Carlos chuckled, stepping back to maybe make the cat more comfortable. "Hey, there you are," Cecil grinned, scratching behind Khoshekh's ears. The cat tilted his head but didn't trust Cecil enough to start purring until a minute later. He stood and stretched his head into Cecil's hand, Cecil saying, "Good boy, sorry about this," before quickly scooping the cat up, Khoshekh meowing in only slight protest. Carlos sighed, keeping out of the way as they headed back into the kitchen.

Kevin said, "Oh, there you are. Hi kitty!" he smiled, Khoshekh's ears immediately laying back.

Cecil said, "Kevin, here's the deal. My gift for you is allowing you to pet Khoshekh, but you can't smile at him. In fact he might prefer it if you left your eyes shut."

"What's wrong with them?" Kevin asked with a hint of worry.

Cecil resisted the urge to say 'so many things' and instead said, "They're...I don't know, apparently Khoshekh is scared of them." Diego gave him a slight look, putting his hand on Kevin's back.

Kevin said, "Oh, well, I do want to pet him before we go," and obediently shut his eyes.

Cecil sighed, "Right. I'll bring him to you, Diego can guide your hand. Mind the spines." Diego sighed, taking Kevin's wrist and extending his hand.

Khoshekh made a quiet meow of discomfort being brought towards Kevin, but trusted Cecil just enough not to struggle out of his grip. Kevin eventually felt fur and carefully pet him, clicking in happiness and saying, "He's so soft!" as Khoshekh's eyes widened, finally locating the source of the clicking sound. Diego chuckled, patting Kevin's back. Khoshekh's tail flicked, fur raising slightly as Kevin continued petting his side, right up until Khoshekh made a sudden move, pouncing out of Cecil's arms when Kevin made the clicks of joy again. Kevin yelped in surprise, Khoshekh's claws gripping the front of Kevin's shirt as the cat bit the material with a playful growl.

Diego froze, Carlos frowning and carefully removing the cat, murmuring, "No, Khoshekh, not a toy."

Cecil seemed to be the only one entertained by the cat's antics, helping Carlos remove the cat all the same as Khoshekh continued batting at Kevin, Kevin chuckling, "What a friendly little guy!"

"Friendly" Carlos agreed, bundling the cat into his arms as Diego pulled Kevin back a step.

Kevin said, "Well, now that that's done, should we go to Josie's?"

"Sure, let me just-" Cecil said, pausing and flinching when there was a loud groaning noise outside as though a building were falling over, the following crash confirming it.

"Oh gods," Carlos mumbled, taking a step back as Diego retreated as well.

Cecil narrowed his eyes in concern, opening his front door slowly and stepping outside, breathing, "Oh Void," as he looked out into his neighborhood. A house not three down the street had seemingly been split in half, the second half not able to support itself and thus falling over.  
Kevin looked out as well, saying, "I think we waited a bit too long..." as Erika landed on Kevin's shoulder.

Carlos frowned, saying, "We've got to go, now." He turned, running back to their bedroom and setting Khoshekh down, not trapping him in the room just in case something happened to the house. He then grabbed a small locked box he'd kept just-in-case, and a few vials and beakers that he shoved into his pockets.

When they were all ready, they exited the house, Cecil saying, "I don't want to risk just walking to Josie's. It looks like this sort've thing is happening all over town." Erika warbled something and disappeared, Cecil sighing, "He went back to Josie's to tell her we're coming." Carlos nodded, pretending not to notice he was holding Cecil's hand.

Kevin said, "Well, you know Night Vale better than us. Isn't there any other route?"

"Well, there is, but it's..." Cecil said, frowning and swallowing.

"What?" Carlos frowned, Diego studying the houses for a destruction pattern.

Cecil said, "It's through the dog park," as he grit his teeth.

Kevin smiled, "Really? That should be an easy route, then!"

Carlos frowned, saying "....We're not allowed in the dog park."

Cecil groaned, "It might be our only chance. Maybe somehow the dog park isn't being affected by...whatever is going on here." A flash of light illuminated the rooftop of a house, a large tree suddenly appearing in the middle of the house with vines hanging down. A loud, screeching caw reverberated down the street, and something looking like a pterodactyl shot out of the branches.

"Then we don't have much of a choice," Carlos frowned, "let's go."

Kevin said, "Yay dogs!" as they started jogging off, avoiding falling street lamps and Cecil having to fight off a man-eating sidewalk and ask a stop sign for directions due to changing roads. Carlos felt strangely at home sprinting through rapidly-corroding streets holding Cecil's hand, keeping an eye out for anything dangerous and having to tug Cecil out of the way of a few falling light posts.

Kevin was talking the whole way, saying, "Ooh this is exciting!" and other such phrases of delight, keeping his tattoos tucked away for the time being as they finally arrived at the gates of the Dog Park, a large white sign with red text on the gate reading: Do Not Enter. Carlos skidded to a halt, Diego observing the gate as Carlos glanced to Cecil.

Cecil had an expression of thinking on, glancing behind them to where the pterodactyl was flying around and sighing, "Alright, let's go," as he used a tentacle to pick the lock on the gate, shoving the gate open and ushering them inside. Carlos stepped through, noticing immediately that, while everything looked the same, everything felt completely off. Kevin and Diego entered next, Cecil going last and shutting the gate behind them. The entire park looked normal; hell, it looked like an ordinary dog park. Sparse trees were offered for shade, picnic tables beneath them. Garbage cans that had never been used sat along a pebble walkway that surrounded a lake in the center of the park. If they squinted, they could even see the gate on the opposite side of the park. Cecil said, "Well, there's our exit," as he pointed it out to them. There was a bridge crossing the lake for those who didn't want to go around. Carlos nodded, noticing the almost concerning lack of hooded figures and taking Cecil's hand again.

Cecil was studying the bridge, Kevin saying, "Should we just take the bridge or a scenic route?"

Cecil said, "I'm...not sure, something seems wrong about the bridge."

"Bridge is quicker," Diego pointed out, Carlos saying "if Cecil says there's something wrong with the bridge..."

Kevin said, "But I don't get it; what's wrong with the bridge?"

Cecil frowned in thought, scanning over it in its entirety before blinking. "It's not the bridge...it's the water."

Carlos glanced to it, Diego saying, "It appears to be just water."

"No, look how still it is," Cecil said.

Kevin tilted his head, saying, "Ooh, you're right. Now that you mention it, I don't feel any breeze either, and there was definitely wind outside your house."

"We're in the dog park," Carlos reminded them, "I don't know if there _is_ wind here."

Cecil said, "But it's water; in such a big mass I thought it was always moving?"

"Not necessarily but," Carlos frowned, "it is a bit odd. Its... wait." He frowned, staring at it as Diego said what he realized. "It's not reflecting the sky."

Cecil said, "So, who thinks we should still take the bridge?"

Kevin said, "I do! Maybe you're all just overreacting? I mean the town's falling apart, after all. These are very stressful times."

"Uh," Carlos frowned, "ok, but if it's not reflecting the sky what's it reflecting?"

Cecil frowned, saying softly, "Carlos, the mirror this morning...do you think...?"

"Maybe," he mumbled, "I don't like it. We should go around."

Kevin asked, "What was wrong with your mirror?"

"It showed an incorrect reflection that didn't match what we were doing," Carlos said.

Kevin said, "That's strange, but shouldn't we be moving?"

"I guess so," Carlos frowned, starting forwards.

They were about a quarter of a way around the lake, Kevin cooing at how tidy and quiet the park was, claiming everyone who usually came here must be hard at work somewhere. Cecil was about to tell him off when something much more pressing caught his eye. The surface of the lake broke--quite literally, it looked more like shattering glass than something erupting out of water. Carlos cursed, stumbling back as Diego tripped backwards, falling and getting back up almost immediately.

There was a deafening roar, a creature's head appearing out of the lake, mouth open wide and bearing several rows of sharp teeth, a long tong with barbs lashing out above it. It had two main crab-claw hands with finned, clawed hands on multiple arms below them, Cecil guessing there were more legs beneath the surface. The pieces of the lake went from glass-like shards to raindrops, cascading around the land in front of the lake. A piece of the monster's chest seemed to unfold, at least a dozen large tentacles with clawed ends reaching down to grab the land for support, the monster screeching again and turning to face them.

Carlos's first reaction was to swear loudly, backing up and almost automatically putting a hand on Cecil's shoulder, Diego grabbing one of Carlos's vials and starting to shake it. Cecil was staring wide-eyed at it, asking, "Is that a leviathan?" with surprise, thinking they had been myths. The apparent leviathan roared, using its clawed hands to start dragging itself onto shore, its back feet turning out to look much more like extremely large, thick crab legs.

"Whatever it is, it's coming this way," Diego said, Carlos hesitating and putting a hand on the box he'd brought.

Cecil frowned, saying, "Carlos, Diego, get out of here," as his tattoos manifested, frowning and thinking fast.

Kevin chirped, "Ooh, you didn't tell me to leave! What should I do?"

"Follow my lead," Cecil growled, starting forward.

"Oh boy!" Kevin smiled, his insect legs unfolding and walking him forward, lifting Kevin's feet off the ground.

Carlos hesitated, kissing Cecil's cheek before grabbing Diego's arm and sprinting away, stopping a hundred or so feet in decently safe territory. Diego frowned at him, Carlos frowning back and both turning to watch.

Cecil said, "Kevin, move that way!" as he pointed.

Kevin said, "I thought you said follow--"

"That just means do something similar to me!" Cecil shouted, dodging a tentacle from the leviathan that tried to grab him, ending up impaling it in the ground.

Kevin said, "Alright, gotcha," as he dodged one as well, grabbing onto it as it started to retreat.

Cecil snapped, "KEVIN YOU RELEASE THAT LEVIATHAN RIGHT NOW," as he used his tentacles to stop one of its claws from pounding him into the ground.

Carlos was leaned forwards, watching Cecil nervously but unable to stop glancing at Kevin. He glanced to Diego, asking, "Is he always like this?"   
Diego watched him hug the leviathan's leg, simply saying, "Yup."

"But he seems so friendly!" Kevin protested Cecil's order, the leviathan making a confused sound and lifting Kevin higher. 

Cecil said, "It's not friendly! It wants to kill Diego!"

Kevin blinked, immediately frowning and growling, "No one touches my Diego," in a lower pitch than his usual cheery tone, his tattoos splitting at the ends to form large claws slicing at another tentacle that reached for him. The leviathan screeched shortly before Kevin bit the tentacle he was hugging, the screech increasing in volume as the tentacle began to corrode with extreme speed.

Carlos blinked, Diego saying, "Hmm, he's never done that before." 

Carlos glanced to him, asking, "Do his bites usually do that?" 

"No," Diego said, "trust me on that one."

Kevin dropped to the ground, Cecil raising an impressed brow as another tentacle captured his attention, sweeping at him from the side and picking him up. "Damn it," Cecil grumbled, using his own tentacles to pry the fingers open, swinging to stand on the tentacle with his own. The leviathan looked between Kevin and Cecil, clearly finding Kevin to be the more pressing target and trying to smash him with a claw as well. Kevin caught the claw with his tattoos, being shoved back only because the claw had more mass. He stuck his tattoos to the claw, being lifted off the ground again towards the monster's head. Carlos glanced back to Cecil, tapping his fingers on the box and waiting as Diego observed Kevin.

The leviathan made a challenging roar that rumbled across the park, Kevin returning it with a roar that sounded more like a lion, the sun suddenly becoming glaringly bright. It illuminated the sky before most of the sky went completely dark, a concentrated beam focusing on the monster's head. The leviathan screeched and thrashed, the sky returning to normal when Kevin's power surge was thrown off due to him being knocked off balance. The remaining tentacles were now thrashing everywhere, cracking trees in half and leaving gouges in the ground, the leviathan apparently blinded.

Diego whistled slowly, Carlos saying, "That's interesting. Technically Cecil should have equal power, being his opposite, but I don't think he channels sunlight." 

"Kevin's something else," Diego said.

Cecil had to shield his own eyes when the spotlight hit the leviathan, saying, "Ok, Kevin, I think it's not after-" but didn't have time to finish his statement. The creature heard his voice, snapping his other claw at Cecil and grabbing him around the waist, Cecil only having time to cushion the impact with his own tentacles, preventing him from being snapped in half. The leviathan roared in triumph, lifting its quarry as Kevin yelped, "Cecil!"  
Cecil said tightly, "You've got the sun, Kevin. However, I've got home advantage," as his irises glowed purple, the sun being shrouded out as the entire park turned black and white, all except Cecil's eyes and tentacles. Speaking of tentacles, what appeared to be very large octopus tentacles erupted out of the water around the leviathan, wrapping around it and dragging it back towards the water, more tentacles taking the monsters' own hostage.

Diego looked impressed, and Carlos would have commented if he wasn't sure he heard a rib crack when the leviathan grabbed Cecil. He stopped delaying, grabbing the box and running forwards with it. Kevin used his legs to scurry across the mass of tentacles, getting to Cecil and using his clawed legs to try to pry the claw apart. The leviathan, however, seemed adamant on keeping at least one prize and wasn't cooperating. The monster roared, a tongue lashing out and wrapping around two of Kevin's insect legs, Kevin squeaking in surprise when he was yanked off the claw towards the leviathan's mouth. Carlos paused in front of it, opening the box carefully and shouting, "Hey!"

Cecil said, "Carlos, what are you doing? Get away from it!" as he continued trying to pry the claw open, his stronger tentacles all being used holding the monster back. It growled at him, opening its mouth and snapping it shut around Kevin after its tongue had pulled him in, Cecil flinching. Diego was already standing next to Carlos, wincing but watching the beast intently. 

It made a warbling sound, blinking its lids sideways and shortly made a retching sound, throwing Kevin up along with a goopy, dark green substance that started slowly eating away at the grass. Kevin shook himself clean, the monster whining due to its acid-burnt tongue, Kevin saying, "That's what you get!" as his insect legs shook themselves clean.

Carlos shouted again, getting the monster's attention even as it whined and snapped his beak at him. He threw the box without the lid into its open mouth and waited. The leviathan felt something enter its mouth and swallowed instinctively, Cecil wondering what Carlos had done before the monster looked startled, flickering in and out of existence briefly, then again a minute later. Carlos frowned, cursing when he realized it was going to accidentally drop Cecil and trying to figure out where he'd land, Diego checking on Kevin.

Kevin said, "The green stuff sorta tingles, might be stomach acid," calmly to Diego as the monster continued flickering faster in and out of existence before it disappeared entirely, Cecil falling and catching himself mostly on tentacles, the larger ones sliding back into the lake as the colors started to fade back to normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just sayin, that leviathan was fun to write :D


	23. When Planes Collide

Carlos ran over to Cecil, asking, "You alright?"

"Uh, mostly, yes," Cecil said, hissing in a breath and frowning, putting a hand on his lower chest.

"Anything besides ribs?" Carlos asked, checking him over.

"I don't think so," Cecil said, "though it'd probably hurt to stand."

"I know," he sighed, finishing his examination and saying "you've broken two ribs."

"Swell," Cecil sighed.

Kevin said, "I could carry him? I'd probably just have to wash off in the lake first."

"I don't know which would cause more pain, walking or being carried," Carlos admitted.

Cecil said, "Nono, I can use my tentacles. I'll be just fine," as he threw a look to Kevin, "but um...good...work with the...leviathan, Kev."

Kevin beamed, "You did great, too! That tentacle trick was so cool! You should teach me that one sometime!"

Cecil sighed, "Yeeeaaah, sure," as his tentacles formed into crutches, of sorts.

Carlos rubbed his back, saying, "We should try to get through fast as we can."

Cecil nodded, "And maybe someone throw a rock into the lake to stop it from being so mirror-still." Carlos shrugged, throwing the box's lid into the lake to start off ripples.

Kevin said, "Well, that's one problem solved. Now to see Josie!"

Carlos couldn't help walking with an arm behind Cecil's back mostly to reassure himself, Diego sticking close to Kevin as they made it out of the dog park fairly safely.

Cecil only seemed to relax when they had left the dog park, sighing, "I'll have to deal with the Secret Police later. In the meantime, let's hurry along," as he started leading the way to Josie's. Carlos noticed that there weren't any people around anymore, glancing about and frowning when he couldn't see anything living. Cecil noted this as well and said, "Everyone's probably hiding out in the lead-lined safe houses. They're underground, so hopefully they'll be a bit safer."

"Hopefully," Carlos mumbled, noticing Erika approaching.

Erika warbled to them, landing on Cecil's tentacles and cooing in concern, Cecil saying, "I'm fine, Erika," as he reached to pet the angel's head. Erika trilled and gurgled something to Cecil, Cecil translating, "Josie's still at her house. The other apparent angels are waiting with her, protecting her house."

"Good," Carlos sighed, "anything big obstructing the way?"

Erika made a thoughtful noise, shaking his hand in a 'sort've' gesture. Cecil asked, "What's wrong?" Erika cooed, Cecil frowning, "A chasm in the middle of the road might be a bit of an issue, yeah."

"Great," Carlos sighed, "that's great."

Erika clicked and whistled something else, Cecil sighing, "I know you can fly us across, but it seems like that'd take awhile. Is there a way around?" Erika warbled something back, Cecil sighing, "I don't trust crossing the rooftops. The buildings have been disappearing and being changed all around town."

"How wide is it?" Diego asked.

Erika warbled, Cecil groaning, "About forty feet wide, but lengthwise it's gotta be about half a mile. Split a house in half from beneath, apparently."

"Great," Carlos said, "we can't just jump that."

Erika made an upset sound, his feathers ruffling as Cecil said, "Ok, ok, you can fly us," quickly, not wanting to upset him. Erika nodded, gesturing to the others to come closer. Carlos glanced to Cecil, Diego putting a hand on Kevin's shoulder.

Erika warbled to Kevin, touching his cheek. Kevin said, "Alright," as he manifested his tattoos, grabbing Diego as Cecil wrapped some spare tentacles around Carlos. Erika nodded, trilling and opening his wings wide, the lot of them disappearing in a large bubble, leaving a ripple in the air behind them that soon faded out as they landed abruptly in Josie's yard. "Why didn't we do that to begin with?" Cecil mumbled.

Carlos sighed, patting his back as Diego said, "What just happened?"

Erika gurgled and clicked, Cecil saying, "He just sort've...jumped us through a wrinkle of the plane, so to speak. The events happening around town right now are due to the planes putting so much extra pressure on each other, and they're starting to bend and warp to try to fit together. It was a risky maneuver on his part, as we could've ended up in a different plane, though. He just didn't want us to panic."

"Great," Diego sighed, "very reassuring."

Erika warbled something else, Cecil adding, "He also didn't want to use up too much of his own power, so that's the last he can do for us. Good thing we're here."

"Thank you," Carlos added, Diego sighing and muttering a thanks as well.

Erika cooed a you're welcome, nuzzling Cecil's cheek and flying into Josie's house, somehow melting right through the door. Carlos started over, Diego walking somewhat more quickly with Kevin and realizing that there were runes all over the doors and porch. Cecil followed with Carlos, still minding his broken ribs and entering the house after everyone else.

Josie was pacing in her living room, though she relaxed slightly once they were all there, saying, "Hello."

"Hi!" Kevin said brightly, moving aside with Diego as Carlos and Cecil entered the room, Cecil supporting himself on his tattoos and hoping nothing got messed up in his back as well.

"I assume you all know what's going on?" Josie asked.

"Vaguely," Cecil said. "We were only told it's time."

"The planes are almost completely collided," Josie said. "We have to act now."

Cecil nodded, "Do you need us to do anything?"

"I don't know, dear," Josie said, "Erika?" Erika shook his head, warbling that the angels could handle it, but once the planes were fixed they'd have to take Kevin and Diego back almost instantly so as not to strain this plane with the foreign material. That being said, if they had goodbyes to share, they should do it now.

Carlos and Diego shared uneasy looks, Carlos saying "uh. Bye."

Kevin frowned, "Will we ever get to see each other again?"

Cecil sighed, "Maybe, if I feel like uncovering my mirror ever."

"Is _that_ why ours stopped working?" Kevin asked. "You'll have to now so we can keep track of your recovery!"

"Right, sure," Cecil said.

"Fine, fine," Diego said, "bye." Carlos half-waved, a bit awkwardly.

They nodded, Erika warbling and adding that seeing as they were in such a close proximity, it might be a bit disorienting for them. Fortunately, Josie chose to live in a house on the rift point, meaning it was in a direct line with six other houses on the six other planes. Carlos nodded, wishing he could take notes as Josie hugged the three Erika's.

The two larger Erikas wrapped their wings around her, cooing and waving to the other angels, nodding to the smallest Erika when they were ready. "Be careful, dears," Josie said, wringing a small doily cloth in her hands. The two larger angels warbled, nuzzling her before drifting through the wall to stand outside. Cecil said, "This ought to be interesting," as the sound of rushing wind started picking up outside. Josie nodded, going to the window as Carlos wrapped an arm behind Cecil's back.

The three angels drifted to the street, tiny Erika holding up a hand to halt them. All at once, a pulse rippled out from them, and then they were no longer in Night Vale. The sun appeared to be swallowed by darkness, stars exploding into being in the sky above. Those in the house suddenly felt very small, as the two angels outside went from large to humongous. The two largest Erikas were suddenly the height of skyscrapers, one of them turning nearly transparent as he stood on the seventh plane. The sun broke back into life with a vengeance in the sky, the heat of Desert Bluffs immediately seeping into Night Vale, as well as some of the blood.

Diego studied the rift, his hands on Kevin's shoulders. Carlos was watching the angels, keeping a firm arm around Cecil. The sky was a mix of the sun surrounded by stars, the clouds being shoved away as the angels spread their wings, using a bit of the smallest angel's power to split their wings into fours like he usually did. Suddenly, they could see what looked like six vertical lines shimmering in the air between the two giant angels. Cecil breathed, "The planes," as different images flickered into view in each column, one looking like fire and another like water and yet another looking like a desolate stretch of land with nothing but air and dirt. Carlos gasped, observing the flickering lines becoming more and more defined and bright white light shining through.

The angels suddenly had six arms each, grabbing hold of the two outer lines and pumping their wings, leaning back and yanking apart, colossal feathers shedding once in awhile and dissolving into a golden dust that disappeared into the stars and sunlight above. Josie was murmuring something under her breath, Carlos shifting to hold Cecil's hand as he could feel a heavy vibration in the earth. Cecil's hand tightened on Carlos' as there was a loud groaning sound, the angels continuing to beat their massive wings until at last the light started to dim and the columns began to grow wider as the planes started being pulled apart.

Josie's murmurings sped up, the other angels suddenly crowding around her to watch out of the window, one putting its hand on her shoulder. The angels made cooing sounds and warbles that somehow went in time with Josie's, the smallest angel hovering a few feet off the ground between the two others. There was a deafening grating noise, and the angels faltered, beating their wings faster and continuing to pull the planes apart after they had started trying to converge again. Josie took one of the angel's hands, Carlos glancing to Cecil and rubbing his thumb on the back of his hand

Cecil's irises were glowing purple again, and even in Kevin's eyes there awakened orange irises from beneath the black voids, both studying the angel on their respective planes. As the columns were pulled wider, the images inside them began to fade, as did the angels pulling the planes apart. Diego watched with interest, Carlos frowning and tightening his hand on Cecil's with worry as Josie fell suddenly silent.

The other angels kept up whatever chant they had been doing, the stars in the sky starting to fade out as well, as it had been midday in Night Vale anyway when they started the process. With a few more heavy yanks and groaning sounds, the ground shaking all the while, there was a sudden silence when everything appeared suddenly normal, at least by Night Vale standards. The silence lasted for a couple seconds, and a ripple shook the air with a whoosh of wind, settling down, suddenly making everything feel right again. Tiny Erika cooed sadly, settling to the ground and staring up where the two other angels used to be.

Josie was the first to say anything, although her quiet "oh," didn't constitute much of a statement. Carlos sighed, turning to hug Cecil as normal life noises started throughout night vale.

Cecil hugged him back, noting that when the ripple had coursed through the town, Kevin and Diego had disappeared with it. Cecil rubbed his back, sighing, "It's over," into Carlos' shoulder.

"We're repairing your ribs," Carlos reminded him, resting his head over Cecil's. Josie exhaled slowly, stepping back from the window.

"I know, we can go to the hospital if you want, but you'll have to drive," Cecil grinned, suddenly looking tired.

"Ok," Carlos sighed, kissing his forehead and turning to look at Josie and the angels.

The angels were warbling and clicking sadly, huddled around her as the smallest Erika remained outside in the same spot. Josie sat slowly, unable to take her eyes off the lone angel in her yard. They all remained relatively still for a long while, listening to the soft breeze rustle the branches of trees outside and the distant caw of the pterodactyl that apparently hadn't been able to go home. 

It wasn't until Erika took a deep breath and turned around, fluttering to Josie, that they were able to move again. Erika drifted to Josie's lap, climbing up and cuddling against her chest, making not sounds of mourning, but more of celebration. She wrapped her arms around the angel, rubbing his back with a hand and finally leaning back in her chair. Erika trilled happily, flapping his wings lightly and bouncing a bit, Cecil smiling and suddenly starting to chuckle, the angel's antics lightening the mood considerably. Josie grinned, rubbing the top of Erika's head as Carlos smiled, releasing Cecil.

Erika warbled, the other angels making similar sounds of joy and nuzzling one another, huddling around Josie for a group hug. She grinned, Carlos asking, "What's going on?"

Erika turned and warbled to him, Cecil saying, "They're just celebrating that everything is normal again," with a laugh. "With luck, we won't have to deal with a situation like that again in our lifetimes."

"That's good," Carlos sighed, hugging Cecil again.

Cecil hugged Carlos with a sigh of relief, saying, "In any case, we should probably check around town, make sure everything is alright on my way to the infirmary."

"Of course," Carlos said, patting his shoulder gently.

"Josie, do you need anything else before we go?" Cecil asked.

"Not really," she chuckled, “you two get yourselves to the infirmary, dears.“

Cecil nodded, "We will. I'll call you later to let you know about my recovery."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Carlos said.

"I hope so," Cecil sighed, giving Josie a hug. He pet Erika's head, the mini angel cooing and licking his hand. Cecil chuckled, "Thank you, Erika."

"Thanks," Carlos nodded, Josie pulling them both into another hug before they could leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> at long last the problem is solved *distant cheers* i might end up posting that bonus chapter as a sequel to this/different single-chapter series but we'll see. also heads up--after this fic is all posted and done with we're gonna be writing a fic on the Marauders while they were still attending Hogwarts :3 and a lot of HP headcanons from tumblr will be included with refs to the source


	24. Settling Down

Cecil got into the passenger seat of his car, handing his keys to Carlos. Around town, it looked as if nothing had happened. The houses were all whole, and the most worrying thing were the cries of the pterodactyl now trapped in their desert town. Carlos glanced around, looking meaningfully at the dog park and back to Cecil. Cecil was mostly looking out the window, sighing, "Looks like everything is in order, except for intern Jason's house. Looks like the tree that giant bird was in stayed, too."

"The pterodactyl," Carlos said, "that might be a bit of a problem."

"Hm, maybe it's friendlier than the leviathan, at any rate. We should make sure it's not destroying anything," Cecil mused.

"After you're checked into the hospital," Carlos said, taking Cecil's hand as he drove.

Cecil groaned, "But my first duty as the Voice is to make sure the town is safe!"

"And you can't do that if you're not well," Carlos said, glancing to him.

Cecil's head thunked against the car window, grumbling, "I guess not," as he continued watching outside.

"I'm sure you'll only be there a little while," Carlos sighed.

"They're broken ribs; even Earl Harlan would probably have a bit of trouble patching me up," Cecil sighed.

"If it's just ribs," he reminded him.

Cecil said, "Well let's hope it's just ribs," with a half-smile.

"We're certainly hoping," Carlos sighed, parking in the hospital's lot.

The medical medusas were in, ushering Cecil inside, as they knew he was the Voice. They made hissing sounds at him, gently prodding Cecil's ribs and telling Carlos to wait outside via writing on whiteboards they carried with them. Carlos sighed, kissing Cecil's cheek and going to sit on the couch outside the room.

They worked for about an hour, but somehow when Cecil exited the room with them he was walking. He sighed, "They do great work and all, but I won't be able to do any heavy lifting or vigorous activities for a couple months. I also have to take these," he lifted a pill bottle.

"But you feel alright?" Carlos asked, standing.

"Much better, yes," Cecil said with a grin, moving to give Carlos a kiss. "Can we look into that large bird now? The...what did you call it?"

"Pterodactyl," Carlos said, hugging him, "and it's a shame about the vigorous activities."

"Oh I think I can cheat once in awhile," Cecil chuckled, nuzzling Carlos' cheek.

"I hope not," Carlos chuckled, wrapping an arm around him as they walked.

~~~~~~~~~

Kevin felt a pulling sensation and heard a rushing wind, feeling like he was being squeezed at the last minute before everything stilled. He opened his eyes, realizing he was hugging Diego and grinning when he saw the blood surrounding them, knowing they must be home. Diego grinned, pulling Kevin into another hug and resting his face in his hair.

"Finally, blood has never smelled sweeter," Kevin sighed, his tattoos wrapping behind Diego as well.

"We're home," Diego sighed, rocking him slightly, "we're home."

Kevin clicked in content, hearing a familiar whirring noise and looking over to see Buster scrambling down the hall. Kevin grinned, "Hey buddy!" and leaned down, Buster sniffing at him and opening his mouth, though suddenly his teeth seemed much larger than when he was only taking samples. Diego frowned, taking a step back and pulling Kevin with him.

Buster's teeth chomped down around nothing. He whirred in confusion and looked up at them with his big eyes, Kevin saying, "Hey, what's wrong?" as Buster started growling.

"Kevin," Diego said, "weren't we arrested?"

Kevin frowned, mumbling, "Oh yeah," before they both had to dodge out of the way of a Strexpet that flung itself at them.

Diego groaned, "Is there a way around this?"

Kevin said, "No one's ever been able to evade the Strex police corp for long. It might be easier to turn ourselves in, but Buster has probably already sent out an alert."

"I don't really want you to be recalibrated again," Diego sighed.

Kevin frowned, "I don't know if we can help that. Besides, it's not like it lasts long."

"Well," Diego said, "they said they were going to do it properly this time."

Kevin said, "Maybe they won't do it right away?" as he used a tattoo to hold Buster down. "I mean, don't they have to throw you in a cell first and read you your rights and all that? Explain why you're arrested?"

"Maybe," Diego frowned, "they make the rules"

"True," Kevin sighed, rubbing his chin as Buster's nub feet struggled but didn't get him anywhere. "Even so, if you want to run we'd better do it now. The Strex Corp will be here any minute."

"I don't know where we could run," Diego admitted.

"I think resisting arrest would only serve to make them angrier, anyway," Kevin sighed, giving him a hug.

"You're right," Diego sighed, "we might as well wait."

Kevin nodded, giving Diego a kiss and saying, "We'll be alright," with a somewhat forced smile.

Diego sighed again, resting his chin on Kevin's head and saying, "I love you.”

"I love you, too," Kevin said, hearing a helicopter rotor in the distance that was growing louder as he burrowed his face into Diego's chest.

They somehow ended up in the same cell awaiting examination, Diego sitting as Kevin paced the room. Kevin was mumbling to himself, trying to keep himself positive and every once in awhile saying something a bit louder and more intelligible like 'ducklings!' and 'rabid moose!' and 'entrails!', biting his nails all the while.

"Kevin," Diego said, watching him, "are you ok?"

Kevin chuckled nervously, "Why yes, I'm just peachy! Everything is sunshine and rainbows and not dark gray dungeon," he forced a chuckle again.

"Kevin," Diego said, "really, I think you're freaking out."

"Whaaat? No don't be absurd! I've never been better!" he squeaked, tattoos twitching erratically.

"Kevin," Diego said, really getting concerned now, "please sit down."

"Why? Is sitting down gonna make it be less depressing?" Kevin asked, suddenly having an almost raised voice but immediately calming, saying, "No, no, happy thoughts..."

Diego stood, walking over to him and saying, "Kevin, I'm getting worried."

Kevin was shaking slightly, saying in quick succession, "No, don't worry about me, I mean I've never been arrested before but it can't be all bad right? I mean they put us in the same room, that's certainly something to be happy about!" Diego studied him, giving him a hug and rubbing his back to try to calm him down. Kevin chuckled to himself, though he hugged Diego back, mumbling more to himself until he made a small yelp when the door into their cell block opened. A man in a business suit strode over to them, saying, "Diego Santiago, you're going first," as he approached their cell.

Diego frowned, patting Kevin's back and kissing his cheek before stepping away. Kevin's eye twitched, his forced smile turning into a grimace as he growled, "Oh _forget it_!" as his tattoos exploded into being, ripping the cell door off its hinges as he moved past Diego, the agent stepping back in alarm as Kevin roared, "You need to make this place more **happy** ," as he grabbed the agent, a tattoo piercing the man through the stomach and spilling blood on the floor as a small window above was suddenly bright as a flood light, though by that time the Strex worker had already set off an alarm.

Diego blinked, walking over to him and almost afraid to say anything. Kevin threw the worker aside, grumbling, "Be right back, I'm gonna have a talk with the manager about the _depressing state_ of these _dungeons_! You know, no prisoner should have to be _sad_ while they're _imprisoned_ or they won't want to come _back_!" he ranted as his tattoos busted down more doors for him to walk down the hall. Diego blinked, deciding to follow him down the hall and glancing to the man Kevin had impaled before walking over him.

Later that day, Kevin sat at his desk with a smile wider than ever, hopping as the music for his show signified it was time for him to start. "Good morning Desert Bluffs, and what a wonderfully perfect morning it is! I've missed you all so," he grinned, new blood and gore being added to his studio, Diego sitting in with him to listen live.

Diego was still mildly in shock, though he had no problem with occupying the seat next to Kevin. "Our first report of the day is simply me, welcoming myself back!" Kevin laughed. "Strexcorp, your great and all-powerful company, is going to, unfortunately, be experiencing some setbacks due to, well," he chuckled, "a little shortage of employees. But don't worry! They will remain up and running for your betterment." Diego nodded slowly, patting Kevin's back. "Perhaps more exciting than being back is my guest in the studio today! Your very own head of the Strex science division," Kevin said, clicking as Diego rubbed his back.

"Hello," Diego sighed, glancing around the bloodstained room again.

"We've been out on a little vacation, of sorts, but now we're back to stay forever!" Kevin smiled, brimming with glee at being home.

"There were some... delays," Diego said, "it all worked out."

"That it did, dear Diego," Kevin cooed. "And I think we made some new friends, and we're hoping to hear from them soon."

"Maybe," Diego amended, "it'd be hard for them to keep in touch."

"Let's just not worry about it, because if we worry about anything, we'll get less work done!" Kevin said. "Now then, on to the rest of today's report."

~~~~~~~~~

Carlos had finally tracked down the pterodactyl, as it had nearly flown off and joined the whispering forest. He instead situated it in John Peters -you know, the farmer?-'s farm. It was taking care of the mouse problem. Cecil looked up at the large winged reptile with intrigue, the pterodactyl cawing and nudging its nose around the barn, looking out for the giant mice that were creating the holes it was shoving its apparent beak in to.

Carlos kept his arm around Cecil, saying, "At least it's settled."

John Peters, you know, the farmer, said, "Oh yeah, this big beauty is gonna make life around here a lot easier, I wager. I've never had a pet that could manage those mice and yet this fella's snackin' on 'em like popcorn."

Cecil sighed, "I'm just glad it didn't take interest in the humans around town."

"It's not stupid, we're too big for prey," Carlos said, "call if you have trouble."

The pterodactyl made a squawking noise, walking over and nudging John's shoulder with its nose. John chuckled, "I sure will, boys," as he pet its nose, the bird making a rumbling sound.

Carlos handed Cecil the keys, heading back to the car and sighing, "At least it's all settled."

"You can say that again," Cecil nodded, getting into his car. "You wanna go somewhere to celebrate, or just head home?"

"Have we been to big Rico's this week?" Carlos asked.

"Technically yes, back when Kevin and Diego were here. I could go for it again, though," Cecil mused.

"Let's order," Carlos sighed, "I just want to rest."

Cecil nodded, "I couldn't agree more," as he started on the road home.

Carlos sighed as they parked, saying, "Honestly, I’m glad they're gone."

"I'm just going to have to get used to it being so quiet," Cecil chuckled.

"I think I can adjust," Carlos groaned, flopping onto the couch as soon as they opened the door.

Cecil chuckled, sitting by Carlos' legs and asking, "What sort've pizza you want tonight?"

"Whatever you want," Carlos said, nudging Cecil's leg with a foot.

Cecil grinned, saying, "Alright," as they heard cat feet trotting down the hall, Khoshekh suddenly appearing on the top of the couch by them, meowing for attention. "Hey boy," Cecil said, petting Khoshekh's head as the cat purred.

"Nice to see you again," Carlos sighed.

Khoshekh warbled another meow, jumping down to land on Carlos' stomach. Cecil laughed, "Missed you too," as the cat looked at them with its head tilted.

Carlos made an "oomph" noise when cat feet landed on his stomach, saying, "Hi, Khoshekh," and scratching under the cat's chin.

Khoshekh purred, tilting his head up and starting to knead Carlos' stomach. Cecil said, "Now Khoshekh, don't be making too many advances on my boyfriend," as he rubbed the cat's back, the cat meowing in response.

"Trust me, it's not really seductive," Carlos chuckled, tapping Cecil's leg again.

"Cats can be seductive," Cecil countered with a smirk, leaning to poke Carlos in the stomach.

Carlos chuckled, "I'm not totally convinced."

Cecil grinned, gently pushing Khoshekh aside and saying, "Then I guess you won't mind if I take his spot?"

"No, I can't say I would," Carlos grinned.

Khoshekh made an undignified meow as he hopped to the floor, sitting down and looking up at them as Cecil crawled over Carlos, laying down and kissing his jaw.

Carlos grinned, tilting Cecil's head up with a finger and saying, "Hello there."

"Hi," Cecil smirked, "hope you don't mind if I join you; I get rather lonesome."

"I don't mind in the least," he grinned, wrapping his arms around Cecil. Cecil grinned, crossing his legs and placing his arms behind Carlos' neck as he kissed him. After a moment Carlos sighed, mumbling, "I'm glad it's over."

"I'm glad, too," Cecil said, settling comfortably and mentally preparing the report he'd have to give on this over Night Vale Community Radio.

"I love you," Carlos mumbled, resting his face in Cecil's hair.

"I love you, too," Cecil grinned, listening to Carlos' heartbeat and completely forgetting about ordering pizza.

*later*

“Hey Carlos, remember when we discussed buying a condo?” Cecil asked from the living room as Carlos cooked dinner.

“Yeah, what about it?” Carlos asked, looking over the island.

“I think we might want to consider staying here instead,” Cecil said.

“Why’s that?” Carlos asked.

“Seems we missed a bit fixing the whole planes problem,” Cecil said, holding up the newspaper with the front page headline: Human Buys a Home or Home Buys a Human? –Condos Taking Inhabitants Captive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and just like that this fic has come to an end. sigh. well we've still got a lot to write with the demons fic, too many ideas and so little time (im starting freshman year of college come fall, woo). your bonus chapter will be published shortly. thank you all so much for the reads and for putting up with our writing this long, it means a lot :D


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